How Dental Crowns Can Be Effective
A dental crown looks just like the visible part of a natural tooth and is a cap that covers one that has been cracked or chipped in an accident or even from chewing hard foods or using teeth to pull clothes off or on.
Crowns can also restore the chewing surfaces of teeth that have been ground down, either from unconscious tension in the jaw during the day or while you sleep (the latter is known as bruxism and a special mouthguard can be made to wear at night to avoid further damage).
In other cases, these caps are required to cover the area where a large cavity has been removed, more than a filling could replace, giving it the type of protection that its enamel outer surface originally provided.
But increasingly, they are becoming known as the ideal replacement for missing teeth as the top part of a dental implant or a bridge (which attaches the crown to the two neighboring teeth).
Whether due to an accident or poor dental hygiene habits, lost teeth cannot simply be ignored. It is a little-known fact that the natural response of the mouth when there is a tooth missing is that the neighboring ones lean towards the gap. This loosens them as well, putting them in danger of needing to be extracted. This process leads to misalignment of the entire bite, causing other teeth to be loosened and for the upper and lower arches to become mismatched, leading to further wear and tear.
Dr. Pirian can do a thorough dental examination to determine how dental crowns might improve both your oral health and give you a sparkling smile you can be proud of. It starts with a physical exam to look for signs of decay, periodontal (gum) disease, dry mouth, oral cancer, and other issues.
Then a digital x-ray (which involves minimal radiation) will enable him to see how healthy the teeth are as they extend below the gum line and into the jawbone. Treatment for these other conditions may be needed before the crown is placed and in cases where sufficient jawbone is lacking for an implant, a bone graft might be required.
In the case of a simple need for a protective cap, Dr. Pirian may remove a small portion of the tooth so that the crown can fit, then he would take a mold of the area to create a temporary crown. Based on the same impression, it takes about two weeks for a top dental lab to craft the permanent one out of dental porcelain (it will be given the identical shade as the neighboring teeth so that no one will know it is not an actual tooth). You would then return to the office to have the crown placed as adjusted as needed.
Properly cared for and with good dental hygiene, crowns can last over 10 years. Call Parthenia Family Dental today if you believe a dental crown could be the next step towards your perfect smile.
