Procedure for Dental Crown Installation

Dental crowns are caps that are permanently fixed on top of your teeth to protect, cover, and restore the shape of your damaged teeth. They are made from metal, porcelain, resin, and ceramics. They can help protect weak teeth from breaking, restore broken teeth, cover misshapen teeth and hold a dental bridge in place. Your dental facility, Dr. Taylor’s Family Dental Center, will design your crowns to fit your mouth to enhance normal functioning. With proper maintenance, your crowns can last up to fifteen years. A dental crown procedure involves two visits to your dentist’s office. The procedure involves:

First session

During the first session, your dentist will examine and prepare your affected tooth. X-rays can be taken to see a detailed structure of the tooth and the surrounding bone. If your tooth has decay, infection, or pulp is injured, you may need a root canal treatment. 

Your dentist will file the affected tooth across the top and the sides. Filing creates space for the crown. The extent of filing depends on the type of crown you choose. Compared to porcelain dental crowns, metal crowns are thinner and do not require much filling. If you have lost too much of your tooth due to damage or decay, your dentist can incorporate a filling material to enhance sufficient tooth structure for crown cover.

After reshaping your tooth, your dentist uses a paste or putty to create a copy of the tooth receiving a dental crown. The dentist also impressions teeth above and below the affected tooth that gets a crown. These pastes ensure that your new crown will not affect your bite.

The impressions are sent to the dental laboratory to enhance designing of your new crown. The laboratory will make your crowns within two to three weeks and deliver them to your dentist’s office. During this first session, your dentist also designs temporary crowns to protect and cover the prepared teeth while waiting on your permanent crowns.  

Second session

The second visit to your dentist involves placing the permanent crown on your tooth. Your dentist will first remove the temporary crown and fits your permanent dental crown. The dentist must ensure the crown fits and matches your natural teeth. If the crown suits your mouth, your specialist can use local anesthesia to fix the crown permanently.

Same-day dental crowns

Your dentist can make your crowns in an office if all the required equipment is available. The dentist will remove your tooth decay and shape the damaged tooth for the new crown to fit appropriately. After these steps, the other procedures are different from the traditional dental crown.

During this same-day crown procedure, your specialist uses a scanning device called a wand to take digital pictures of the affected tooth. The computer will create a 3D model of your tooth from these images. The specialist will then send the digital design to another in-office machine that carves the shape of your crown from a ceramic block. The crown is ready within fifteen minutes.

To ensure your dental crowns last long, practice proper oral hygiene and avoid activities like grinding your teeth that might damage the crowns. Schedule an appointment at Dr. Taylor’s Family Dental Center for crown placement to protect and restore your teeth.