Crowns

Sometimes referred to as a "cap" by the lay person, the crown encircles and encloses the tooth. It slides down over the tooth (like a cap on your head) and is cemented or bonded in place. Whenever 50% or more of the tooth structure is gone, a crown is typically the restoration of choice. If there's not enough tooth structure to encircle and surround a filling, then you need a restoration that will surround and support the tooth. Crowns can be either all metal, porcelain fused to metal, or all porcelain.

A crown may be indicated for the following reasons:

• The tooth has a large cavity
• The tooth has had root canal therapy
• The tooth has a large, weak, and even failing filling
• To replace a failing or unacceptable existing crown
• For cosmetic improvement

Do you have existing crowns that are dark at the gum line or look unnatural?

Crowns can be made of several different materials each of which may be indicated for different situations:

• Gold
• Porcelain Fused to Metal (metal substructure with a porcelain coverage)
• All-Porcelain/Ceramic

The trend is towards reducing or eliminating metal in dentistry. The All-Ceramic Crowns are state of the art. They appear very natural and have the advantage of being bonded to the tooth for strength. Since there is no metal substructure, they don't have the "black line syndrome" at the gum line.These crowns are made from a beautiful, transluscent porcelain - no metal, inside or out, so you don't have to live with those unnatural-looking crowns that look dark at the gum line. If you smile like Julia Roberts, this can be an issue.