Porcelain Crown

Porcelain crowns usually last at least 15 years with proper care and maintenance, and it’s not uncommon for crowns to last 20+ years. The porcelain ceramic materials used to build your crown are very durable and similar to your enamel in strength and hardness, so you can expect your crown to last a very long time.

Dental crowns are needed to repair teeth that are too decayed to treat with a filling, and are also used to treat infected teeth after root canals, or to repair a tooth that’s been broken or cracked due to oral trauma.

The best way to find out if a dental crown is right for you is to contact Picasso Dental for a consultation.

A composite filling is a great restoration for a smaller cavity. However, some cavities, especially those on your molars, can be so large that they essentially hollow out your tooth. The root may be stable, but the tooth itself is a shell, and unable to withstand normal daily use. In this case, your tooth will be filled, but also needs to be covered by a crown for protection. If you have had root canal therapy to correct an abscessed tooth, it will also need to be covered by a crown.

You can eat most of the food you’ve been eating! Do try to avoid sticky and chewy foods like caramels or toffee, since those could possibly pull the crown off!

Crowns are made of a variety of materials and new materials are being introduced all the time, the 3 most popular group of materials:

• Porcelain bonded to precious metal: These crowns are made up of a metal base with porcelain fused or bonded to its surface. It is considered to be a robust crown although occasionally small pieces of porcelain my chip away from the underlying metal. Another disadvantage is that the crown is thicker which means that the dentist has to remove more tooth substance during the preparation.

• Ceramic crowns- E-max and Zirconia: These cosmetic crowns are made purely from ceramic and no other material. They are made from a translucent material which means that they look very natural and blend in well with your natural teeth. Because these crowns are thinner it means that less tooth substance needs to be removed. These crowns are still very strong and your dentist will advise you as to which type of ceramic crown would be most suitable for your mouth.

• Precious metal (gold and palladium): these crowns are very strong and hard-wearing, but are not usually used at the front of the mouth, where they are highly visible.

The dentist will prepare the tooth to the ideal shape for the crown.  This will mean removing some of the outer surface, leaving a strong inner ‘core’. The amount of the tooth removed will be the same as the thickness of the crown to be fitted.