Dental Crowns

A dental crown is a prosthetic that's used if a patient comes into the office and their tooth is broken in several areas, or is cracking, or has an existing restoration and now they no longer can chew in that area. So a crown is designed to support function in that area, so they can chew well and function well. In our office, we happen to use what's called CEREC, which is a single-day crown utilizing state-of-the-art materials, typically porcelain, to make a crown in a single appointment. A patient who's a good candidate for a dental crown is a patient that comes in the door that has, you know, an old existing restoration, typically an old silver filling, or what we call in the dentistry an amalgam, where that filling or part of the tooth is cracked. But there's still enough foundation of that tooth that it could be resorted. And then, we can restore that tooth with a crown, so that they can function and chew with it. You know, like the rest of your teeth, it's really a restoration that can last a very long time. You know, the American Dental Association probably says it's on average 15 years. But I've seen crowns in patient's mouths that have been in there for several decades. But they just need to care for it like they would any other tooth. Brush it, floss, and make sure that they're on a low sugar diet.