A tooth crown, also known as a dental crown, is a cap placed on top of a damaged tooth. Our dentists in Lake City, FL, use crowns to protect, cover, and restore the shape of patients’ teeth when dental fillings will not remedy the issue. Dental crowns can be made out of porcelain, resin, ceramics, and metals and are custom-fitted to each tooth. Other than practicing good oral hygiene and visiting your Lake City dentist for regular checkups and cleanings, dental crowns typically don’t require special care over time.

Here at Lake City Dental, we know how important it is for every person to have access to high-quality dental care. We offer an encompassing range of therapeutic, cosmetic, and restorative dental services and use the latest innovations in the field of dentistry to ensure our patients achieve and maintain top oral health. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for treatment.

What Are Dental Crowns?

As we age and over time, our teeth can sustain damage. This can occur due to a variety of different reasons, such as tooth decay, injuries to the mouth, and regular use of our teeth over time. Our teeth can lose their shape, size, and their natural functioning abilities. When that happens, our dentists in Lake City place dental crowns, which are tooth-shaped caps, snugly over your damaged tooth. The custom-made crown restores the tooth’s optimal shape, size, appearance, and strength. Once placed, the dental crown is affixed to the tooth using special dental cement, and it covers the visible portion of the tooth above the gum line. For more information about tooth restoration with dental crowns, contact Lake City Dental.

Who Needs Dental Crowns?

There are several reasons why you might need a dental crown. Cracked teeth and teeth requiring very large fillings typically require a crown due to the need for full-coverage tooth restoration. The most common reason patients may require teeth crowns include the following. Contact our Lake City dental practice to schedule an appointment today.

  • Protecting and restoring broken teeth
  • Holding dental bridges in place
  • Covering the visible portion of a discolored tooth
  • Concealing dental implants
  • Resorting one or more fillings
  • Protecting the tooth and root structure
  • Covering a tooth following root canal therapy
  • Closing gaps between the teeth

How Much Of A Tooth Is Needed For A Crown?

A tooth crown procedure may be recommended by our Lake City dentists to patients with teeth that have only about three-quarters of damage or decay relative to the rest of the teeth’ surface areas. In most cases, at least 2 millimeters of tooth structure may be required in order to place a tooth crown. Dental crowns are designed to fit on a minimal amount of a tooth’s remaining structure.

While crown placement doesn’t require a tooth to be fully intact, there must still be enough tooth surface unaffected by damage and decay for the dentist to cement the crown onto the tooth and to provide support to the patient’s surrounding teeth and gums. To determine whether or not your damaged or decayed tooth or teeth have an adequate amount of surface area for a dental crown, please contact our office to schedule an appointment.

Types Of Dental Crowns

Permanent dental crowns can be made from many different materials. As such, there are several tooth crown types available. The exact tooth crown type that will be best suited for your needs will depend on many factors. Your dentist will help you select the ideal type of dental crown for your oral health requirements and aesthetic preferences. Contact Lake City Dental for additional information about the types of dental crowns available through our practice.

Metal Crowns

There are several metal-based materials that can be used in dental crowns, including gold, nickel, chromium, and palladium. Metal crowns are highly durable and rarely chip or break. As a result, metal crowns typically last the longest in terms of wear, and they only require a small amount of the tooth to be removed. Metal-based crowns can withstand biting and chewing forces over time as well. Yet, their metallic color is the main disadvantage of this type of crown for highly visible teeth. Metal crowns are a good choice for out-of-sight teeth, such as molars.

Porcelain Crowns

Porcelain crowns, commonly referred to as all-ceramic crowns or all-porcelain crowns, offer the best natural appearance and color match to any other crown material type. Porcelain crowns are also a great choice for patients who suffer from allergies to metals. When selecting among the available options for placing front teeth crowns, all-ceramic or all-porcelain crowns are the top choices. However, they are not as durable as porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. Additionally, they can likewise wear down the teeth opposite them in the mouth more than metal or resin crowns.

Porcelain-Fused-To-Metal Crowns

Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns can be matched to the color of the surrounding teeth, providing a more natural tooth color than other types of materials used for crowns. However, in some cases, the metal under the crown’s porcelain cap may show through and reveal a dark line. Other disadvantages of a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown can include the chance of the crown’s porcelain portion chipping or breaking off and the crown-wearing down the teeth opposite to it within the mouth. The wear to teeth can specifically affect the teeth that come into contact with the crowned tooth on the top and the bottom of the mouth when it is closed.

All-Resin Crowns

All-resin dental crowns offer the benefit of being typically less costly than other types of crowns and materials. However, all-resin crowns are likely to wear down over time and with use, and as such, they are more likely to break, chip, and sustain damage than other options, such as porcelain-fused-to-metal-crowns, metal crowns, or porcelain/ceramic dental crowns. As a result, this type of crown is less commonly used than other types of crown materials.

Pressed Ceramic Crowns

Pressed ceramic crowns are a type of dental crown with a hard, durable inner core. While porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns and all-porcelain or all-ceramic crowns have a metal liner and core, pressed ceramic crowns to replace the metal liner used in the processes of making these other types of crowns. Pressed ceramic crowns are capped with porcelain, which offers an extremely natural-looking appearance that is nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding teeth. Additionally, pressed ceramic crowns are typically longer-lasting and more durable than all-porcelain and all-ceramic crowns.

Dental Crowns Procedure

For teeth with a mild-to-moderate degree of decay, dental fillings are typically sufficient for restoring the affected teeth to their proper functionality and appearance. However, patients with a more significant degree of tooth decay may require a different approach to dental treatment. To address more severely damage teeth, the use of dental crowns may be optimal. Dental restoration with crowns uses customized, laboratory-made crowns to cover the full area of the affected tooth above the natural gum line. As well as addressing cavities, dental crowns can be used to restore teeth that are worn or broken, to secure a dental bridge in place, and to hold teeth together that have become compromised or weakened by large fillings or fractures.

The tooth crowns procedure is typically performed while the patient is under local anesthesia. The dentist starts by preparing the tooth by shaping it with specialized dental tools. Once the ideal tooth shape is achieved, our team takes impressions of the teeth and sends the impressions to our dental laboratory. In addition to the impressions, we likewise send color specifications to our lab technicians so that the resulting dental crown will match the appearance of the surrounding teeth. While the patient waits for their customized crown to be made, the dentist will place a temporary crown made from acrylic, resin, or another material, in the treated area of the mouth.

Once the permanent crown arrives from the lab and is ready for placement, the patient returns to our office for a secondary appointment, during which we cement the crown into place, ensuring an optimal fit, appearance, and function of the crown. For more information about the tooth crown procedure process, please contact Lake City Dental.

How Long Do Dental Crowns Last?

Oral health and requirements for dental care can vary from patient to patient. However, when well-maintained, a dental crown has an average lifespan of approximately 15 years from the time the crown was initially placed. However, with excellent dental hygiene and oral care, both at home and in the dentist’s office, dental crowns last upwards of 25–30 years or so. For more information about the lasting power of your dental crowns and to schedule an appointment for tooth restoration using dental crowns, contact our office!

How To Care For Dental Crowns

Your mouth is a complex environment, and with the addition of a dental crown, there are several different factors that can affect the longevity of your crown. The longevity of a dental crown can be dependent on your daily oral hygiene habits and the day-to-day wear and tear the dental crown is subjected to over time, among other factors. To help extend the lifespan of your dental crown, you can do the following. Visit your dentist in Lake City at Lake City Dental for high-quality dental care for full-mouth oral and dental restoration services!

  • Do not clench or grind your teeth
  • Wear a dentist-provided night guard while sleeping
  • Practice proper oral and dental hygiene each day
  • Brush your teeth twice each day and floss at least once a day
  • Do not chew ice or bite down on hard candy or hard foods
  • Do not bite your fingernails or use your teeth to open anything
  • Attend regular professional dental cleaning and checkup appointments