Dental Crowns - Everything You Need to Know About Crowns
Having problems with your teeth? We can help. At Portland City Dental, we can offer you a wide range of tooth restoration procedures to treat your damaged teeth and restore them to their natural state. A dental crown procedure is one of the top dental restoration solutions that we offer. During the procedure, crowns, synthetic tooth-like caps, are placed on the damaged teeth, covering the damage. If you are looking for solutions to your damaged teeth, read on to find out if a dental crown procedure is right for you.
Possible Uses of Dental Crowns
Dental crowns are custom-made based to resemble the shape, size, and in some cases, color of your natural teeth. This helps to restore, in most cases, the full natural look of the damaged tooth. Moreover, when one is placed on your tooth, it is permanently cemented into place, thus covering any damage. It also offers a layer of permanent protection to the tooth, while increasing its strength and performance. These workings of dental crowns allow them to be used in a wide range of scenarios such as:
| • | Covering a tooth with large cavities that cannot be filled after a root canal. |
| • | Restoring worn down, broken, cracked, or weak teeth. |
| • | Covering a tooth after a root canal procedure has been performed - to protect it from further infection and increase its strength and performance. |
| • | Covering teeth with cosmetic issues such as stains and discolorations, and badly shaped teeth. |
Asides from repairing damaged teeth or those with cosmetic issues, dental crowns are also used when replacing missing teeth with artificial ones. They are commonly used in dental bridges to anchor the bridge to the adjacent natural teeth. They are also used in dental implant placement to cover the implants.
What to Expect During a Crown Procedure?
A dental crown procedure is a treatment process that is typically carried out in two or more dental visits. Below is a breakdown of what happens during the procedure:
| • | Initial appointment - the crown treatment procedure starts with a consultation appointment, where a dental examination is performed to assess the condition of your teeth. If we determine that your teeth are damaged enough to require crown placement, we then proceed to get the actual treatment. |
| • | Tooth preparation - before a damaged tooth can receive a dental crown, it must be prepared. Preparation involves removing the damaged section of the tooth, in the case of tooth decay or infection. The tooth also needs to be reshaped to retain the same size and shape when a crown is placed. The reshaping involves trimming away part of the enamel.
|
| • | Taking a tooth impression - after preparing the tooth, an impression of your teeth is taken, which is then sent to a dental lab to allow for the creation of a custom crown that fits perfectly to the prepared tooth and has the same shape and size as your natural tooth. The custom-creation of the crown in a dental lab usually takes two weeks, thus requiring another appointment. To protect your prepared tooth during this period, a temporary crown is placed. |
| • | Placement of the custom crown - once the custom crown is ready, you can return for the final step. During this visit, the permanent crown is removed and the custom one installed. The installation involves the use of a bonding material, which helps to permanently cement the crown into place.
|
| • | Follow-up visits - follow up visits may be required to check on the progress of the restored tooth, and ensure that there are no complications or additional dental issues. |
Having a damaged tooth can greatly affect your oral health. However, with the dental solutions from Portland City Dental, we can be able to remedy various forms of damage to your teeth. Call us today at (503) 256-7917 to schedule an appointment.