Crown Specialist

What is a dental crown?

A crown is a prosthetic dental device used to cover your teeth and help restore them to their typical shape and size. Crowns make your teeth stronger and improve the appearance of your mouth and smile.

Crowns get cemented onto a damaged tooth and also strengthen your teeth while improving the overall alignment of the mouth.

What are the different types of crowns?

The different types of crowns include:

Metals

Crowns made of gold, palladium, nickel, or chromium rarely chip or break and tend to last the longest. The procedure for receiving a metal crown only requires the removal of a small amount of tooth. Since the metallic color is the main drawback, metal crowns make an excellent choice for back molars.

Porcelain-fused-to-metal

Another good choice for back teeth is porcelain-fused-to-metal dental crowns. This type of crown gets matched to the color of your teeth, allowing for a more natural-looking crown color that blends in better.

However, the metal under your crown’s porcelain cap may show through and make it appear like your tooth has a dark line. Additionally, the porcelain on your crown can chip and break off more often than metal crowns and there’s more wear found on the teeth opposite the cap.

All-resin

Dental crowns made of resin tend to be less expensive than other crown types. However, all-resin crowns wear down over time and break more often than porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns.

All-ceramic or all-porcelain

Dental crowns made of either all-ceramic or all-porcelain provide the best color match to your natural teeth compared to any other crown type.

However, all-ceramic and all-porcelain crowns aren’t as strong as porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns and may wear down the teeth opposite them more than metal or resin crowns. All-ceramic crowns make a good choice for front teeth.

Pressed ceramic

Pressed ceramic crowns have a hard inner core that replaces the metal liner used in all-ceramic crowns. Pressed ceramic crowns get capped with porcelain to provide the best natural color match. Pressed ceramic crowns also tend to last longer than all-porcelain crowns.

How do you care for a crown?

Crowned teeth don’t require any special care. Your underlying tooth still needs protection from decay and disease, so it’s essential to continue brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing once a day. Take extra care around the crown area where the gum meets your tooth. To help prevent cracking, avoid biting hard surfaces if you have porcelain crowns.

To help strengthen your teeth and improve the appearance of your smile with dental crowns, call or make an appointment online today at the office of Dr. Daniel B. Mendoza in Redwood City, California.