Keeping a Natural Tooth is Better for Your Oral Health

A natural tooth is important for more than just eating, speaking and looking good. Loss of a tooth can lead to resorption of your jaw bone. It can also lead to a change in the balance of forces within your mouth, allowing teeth to drift into this space. This can lead to crooked teeth and a bad bite.

By protecting a tooth with a dental crown, not only do you help prevent the need for a tooth to be extracted, you are also looking after your overall oral health.

Dental crowns can be made from a variety of materials. Modern materials such as Emax and Zirconia have largely superseded older materials such as gold and porcelain. Nowadays crowns are digitally (CADCAM) designed and printed and subsequently bonded onto your teeth. The superior materials and process lead to a better looking and more durable restoration.

If maintained appropriately, dental crowns can last 10+ years. We recommend regular checkups so the health of your restorations and overall oral health can be maintained (monitored).

A dental bridge is essentially 2 or more crowns fused together to anchor the replacement of a missing tooth.

Dental implants are used widely to replace missing teeth however in certain situations a dental bridge may be the most appropriate choice

The Dental Crown Procedure

This restorative treatment takes three appointments.

1. The first appointment is the initial consultation where one of our friendly Carnegie Dental Group dentists will examine your oral health and take x-rays.
2. The next appointment is where your tooth is prepared, a mould is taken and the temporary crown is placed. The mould is sent off the lab where your dental crown will be fabricated.
3. The final appointment is where your temporary crown is replaced with the more permanent restoration.

Dental crowns can be made from a variety of materials depending on which tooth is being treated. For most teeth, porcelain-on-metal or porcelain-on-gold is the preferred option. This is because metal and gold are much stronger than porcelain so these materials can withstand the pressure of your bite. A layer of porcelain is placed over the metal or gold for aesthetic reasons.

If looked after, dental crowns can last between 8 to 10 years. As with all restorative treatments we strongly recommend you visit Carnegie Dental Group so we may monitor the health of your restoration as well as your overall oral health.