Dental Crown Procedure
Whether you’re covering up a damaged tooth or adding a prosthetic tooth to fill a gap in your smile, dental crowns can provide an easy and elegant solution to a stubborn dental problem. Used in dental implants, bridges, and even shaped on the spot to replace part of a missing tooth, dental crowns have a wide variety of applications and even bigger impact on one’s quality of life. Better still, they are relatively quickly and easily placed; some can even be done in a day!
Getting Ready for a Dental Crown
In some cases, it may be possible to get a crown created and placed in one day. This is only done, however, in offices that have the technology to scan the tooth, create a 3-D model, and have an onsite lab create the crown on the spot. This an exception rather than the rule, however, as most dental crowns are created in a dental laboratory between one visit and the next.
In preparing to get a dental crown, you will usually haven appointment with your dentist who will examine the tooth or area to receive the bridge or implant crown, take an X-ray or another rendering of your mouth to determine the proper size, shape, and placement of the crown, and then, in the case of a damaged tooth that is to receive a crown on top, begin the process of filing down the tooth over which the crown is to be placed. This modification of a damaged tooth is a necessary means of preparing the surface of the tooth to allow for bonding to take place during the day of placement. If you have a dental implant that will be receiving an implant crown, you may have the connecting piece (called abutment) placed at this time.
Your dentist will then take an impression of your mouth, which she or he will then send off to a dental laboratory for the crown to be made, and then place a temporary crown over the area to protect it from damage while you wait two to three weeks for your crown to be custom created.
Placing a Dental Crown
During the day of placement, your dentist may choose to numb the area with Novocain or some other such numbing agent. This is to keep you from experiencing any discomfort during the placement of the crown. She or he will then position the crown in its place, check the placement a couple times, and finally cement or otherwise attach it in place. Care will be taken to ensure that it is positioned to align with your natural bite pattern so as not to create any problems with other teeth.
Caring for a Dental Crown
Caring for a dental crown is a simple as taking care of your natural teeth. While you might experience some minor discomfort or notice some minor discrepancies between how the new crown feels as compared to the old one, this will soon pass. If in the unlikely case pain or discomfort persists, be sure to reach out to your dentist to report the issue and seek a solution. More likely than not, though, you’ll simply become accustomed to this new part of your mouth and soon forget it’s even there.