A dental crown is a tooth shaped cap that is placed over the tooth that is badly damaged or decayed. The words “cap” and crown are often used interchangeably. The purpose of the crown is to restore the shape, strength, and size of the tooth. It also restores the tooth to an original appearance. Crowns fully encase the visible areas of the tooth, all the way to the gum line.

As with any top rated Chicago cosmetic dentist, Dr. Block places a priority on ensuring that you have the most natural looking smile possible and uses dental crowns to restore damage that is too extensive to be repaired with a dental filling. Some patients choose to have crowns placed for the purely cosmetic reason of changing the shape or appearance of the teeth.

Porcelain Dental Crowns

There are many terms that a cosmetic dentist may use when describing a dental crown, including porcelain crown and ceramic crown. Porcelain crowns have a more realistic appearance that closely resembles your natural teeth, while crowns that made completely of metal can be considered less aesthetically pleasing.

Porcelain crowns can be made using all porcelain or porcelain fused to metal, giving the durable metal the added benefit of having a natural look. A benefit of the all porcelain crown is that it eliminates the possibility of the metal showing under the porcelain in future years, as gums naturally recede.

The Crowning Process

Once Dr. Block has determined that your treatment plan will include one or more dental crowns, you will be asked to come to the office for the first phase of the process, during which time your tooth (or teeth) will be prepared.

After numbing your mouth, Dr. Block will carefully sculpt your tooth in preparation for fitting and placement of the crown. This is generally a painless procedure that requires nothing more than a local anesthetic for numbing. Dr. Block will then take an impression of your teeth, to be sent to a specialty dental laboratory, where your custom crown will be custom fabricated for you. Given that your teeth are newly sculpted and the permanent crowns will not be ready for up to two weeks, temporary crowns made of acrylic resin will be fitted.

Upon your return visit, Dr. Block will remove the temporary crown and fit the permanent crown over your tooth, and then carefully cement it into place.

Maintaining Your New Crown

Once your crown is cemented in place, you are free to resume your daily activities including routine oral hygiene. You may brush, floss, and rinse in a normal manner. You should avoid eating extremely hard foods such as nuts, as it could result in the crown cracking or breaking. Other than the restriction of not eating hard foods, there are no special instructions to follow. Your newly placed dental crown should last for decades, if not your lifetime, with proper care and maintenance.

About Dr. Nancy Block

Dr. Nancy Block is a licensed provider of General and Preventative Dentistry as well as Cosmetic and Restorative Dentistry and accepts most major dental insurance plans in Illinois.

Dr. Block treats patients in the Chicago Metro area including the neighborhoods of Lakeview, Lincoln Park, The Loop, Magnificent Mile, Old Town, River North, Streeterville, The West Loop and the Gold Coast.