Dental Crowns Restore Your Smile
Crowns are durable shields placed over a damaged tooth to protect it. Made to look like a normal tooth, crowns restore tooth function and improve your smile.
Crowns are durable shields placed over a damaged tooth to protect it. Made to look like a normal tooth, crowns restore tooth function and improve your smile.
This video illustrates how a crown, custom-made by CAD/CAM 3-D technology, restores a damaged tooth in a single visit, often referred to as same-day dentistry.
At Scripps Rock Dental, we care about your time and health. In the past, restoring a tooth with a crown was a tedious procedure requiring more than one visit to the dentist. Today, our dentists provide San Diego residents access to the latest crown-making technology with CEREC. CEREC uses strong, tooth-colored porcelain to create each crown or bridge. The best part, crowns, bridges, and veneers can be crafted in our office in as little as 90 minutes, saving you time at the dentist!
If you have a broken, decayed, misshapen, or discolored tooth, or a tooth that requires a root canal, a dental crown is a long-lasting, natural-looking treatment option that can restore your tooth’s function and appearance, along with your self-confidence.
A dental crown is a tooth-shaped “cap” that covers a tooth to restore its shape and strength and improve its appearance. A crown fully encases the entire visible portion of a tooth above and at the gum line and protects the tooth during use. There are several types of crowns, though the most common have a porcelain exterior to match the appearance of natural teeth.
Types of dental crowns include:
Your dentist may recommend a crown to:
Pros and cons of crowns compared to veneers:
A crown procedure involves preparing the tooth by first reducing the surface area of the whole tooth, so the crown fits over it and looks natural. With traditional crowns, an impression is taken of a reduced tooth and sent to a dental lab to create a custom-designed crown to fit over it. The patient will wear a temporary crown until the permanent crown is ready. Temporary crowns are typically made of acrylic and can be created in your dentist’s office; they’re held in place by temporary cement.
Once the permanent crown is ready, the patient returns for a second visit, where the temporary crown is removed and the permanent crown is cemented in place.
Our office provides advanced technology to support same-day dentistry and can provide crowns in one single visit through CEREC® technology.
CEREC® stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. This same-day dental technology helps dentists streamline making a crown, restoring a patient’s smile in a single visit.
CEREC® utilizes computer-aided design, also known as CAD-CAM technology, to scan your teeth using a 3D camera. The image data is then sent to an in-office machine in our dental service that mills the crown from a ceramic block. The milling process can take only a few minutes, after which your dentist can place it.
This same-day service makes getting a crown easier than ever!
When properly cared for, a dental crown can last up to 15 years. Crowns can be taken care of by regular brushing and flossing. The tooth beneath the crown is still susceptible to decay if you don’t maintain good oral hygiene — if the tooth beneath a crown decays, the crown must be removed so the tooth can be treated.
Some habits, such as grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw, can significantly shorten the life of a crown. Ask your dentist about treating these behaviors. Hard or brittle foods can also damage the crown and should be avoided.
If you have a dental condition that may require a crown, contact us today to book an appointment. Your dentist can examine your teeth and review your options for restoring them to optimal oral health, including same-day crowns.