Do you want teeth fit for a king or queen? Sorry. We couldn’t resist. Dental crowns are “caps” that look like royal headwear that slip over a damaged, misshapen, discoloured or post-root canal treated tooth. A crown can perfect the appearance of a tooth, permanently protect it from infection, or even support bridges to resolve tooth loss. If you’re considering crowns as an option for your dental needs, you may have questions about the process. Here’s what you need to know about the eight-step process and how to preserve the life of your crowns.
The eight steps to being fit with dental crowns in NW Calgary
During a complete examination, our dentist in NW Calgary will take images of your teeth and jaw to ensure the underlying tooth is healthy and can support the crown. If the tooth to be crowned is unhealthy, your dentist will recommend dealing with whatever happens. For example, our dentist may recommend a root canal to eliminate serious infections. Once the underlying tooth is healed or confirmed to be healthy enough to support a dental crown in NW Calgary, you’ll move on to the second step.
After numbing the affected tooth with an anesthetic so you’re as comfortable as possible, our dentist will remove some material from the tooth’s surface to accommodate your crown. The goal will be to prevent adding any bulk to your tooth and to ensure that the biting surface of your tooth is at the same height as your other teeth after the crown is in place.
Depending on the condition of your tooth, sometimes that preparation step involves adding some material and not just removing material if that’s what is needed to ensure the tooth can support the crown.
Once the tooth has been prepared, our dentist in NW Calgary will take impressions of your tooth — and the teeth around it — to have a crown made and to ensure that the final crown will fit alongside and with your other natural teeth.
At the end of this process, our dentist will fit you with a temporary crown to wear until your permanent crown is ready to be bonded to your prepared tooth. It is important because removing material from your tooth leaves it more vulnerable to penetration by bacteria and tooth decay until a permanent crown has been installed.
Those impressions will go to a dental laboratory, where technicians will craft a crown to fit your prepared tooth and the neighbouring teeth precisely.
At your second visit, your dentist will remove the temporary crown and then place (but not bond) your permanent crown onto your tooth. This dry fit ensures that the crown fits properly and the colour matches your remaining teeth as desired.
Assuming your new permanent crown fits and blends in perfectly, our dentist in NW Calgary will numb the affected tooth and then permanently cement the crown to your tooth using special bonding compounds.
How long do dental crowns last?
With proper care and commitment to the health of the underlying and surrounding tooth and gums, a crown can last for as long as 15 years. The lifespan of any particular crown varies depending on various factors. Our dentist, familiar with your teeth and lifestyle, will be able to provide a more informed estimate of the lifespan of your crown.
- The factors that can influence how long your crown will last include:
- The location of the crown in your mouth and how much pressure it will experience
- How well do you maintain the oral hygiene of your mouth
- Whether you smoke, drink alcohol, and chew or bite things like ice or fingernails
- Whether you clench your jaw and grind or gnash your teeth as you sleep (sleep bruxism)
Dental crowns near you are highly effective and efficient in resolving many functional and cosmetic dentistry issues.
If you have any questions about the suitability of crowns for your dental needs or whether you are a good candidate for crowns, contact a dentist near you for an evaluation.
