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Types of Dental Crown / Caps

Types of Dental Crown / Caps

What are Dental Crowns?

Dental crowns, also known as “dental caps,” preserve the functionality of damaged teeth. Crowns are used to protect a cracked tooth, restore the functionality of a tooth with excessive decay, or replace a pre-existing crown. The purpose of a dental crown is to encase a needy tooth with a custom-designed material.

Sunnyvale Dental Care cosmetic dental practice has a variety of conservative treatment options through which to restore teeth. If possible, these options should be explored and discussed before selecting the full coverage crown. These options will include partial coverage crowns e.g. Inlays and Onlays.

The Clinical Procedure

During the crown procedure, your dentist prepares the tooth and makes a molded impression of the teeth to send to a dental laboratory. A fitted, temporary crown is created during this visit to temporarily protect the tooth while the final restoration is being made in the dental laboratory.

Once completed, the crown is cemented or adhesively bonded at a later Sunnyvale Dental Care cosmetic office visit.

Fixed Partial Dentures, Dental Implants and Crowns

Fixed partial dentures (aka dental bridges) are an extension of the dental crown treatment for replacement of missing teeth. Crowns are placed on the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth or teeth and connected to a missing tooth-like replica. Although fixed partial dentures may serve as a functional and esthetic restoration, today’s treatment-of-choice for a missing tooth or teeth is with dental implants. A dental implant replaces missing teeth with a titanium root replica. A crown is then placed on the implant above the gumline. Dental implants are a very predictable treatment choice, returning support to the bite and preventing the need for the unnecessary crowning of adjacent teeth.

The four predominant choices of restorative materials for the full coverage crowns are:

  • Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal
  • Porcelain-Fused-to-Zirconia
  • All-Ceramic (All-Porcelain)
  • The Empress Crown
  • Gold

The material selected is determined by the clinical demands at hand; esthetic demands, strength requirements, material durability and restorative space available.

Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal Crowns

Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns provide for a strong, durable, and esthetic treatment option. One of the key factors for the esthetic and functional success of this type of crown is ensuring the preparation of the underlying tooth structure provides adequate space for the appropriate thickness of the material selected. Additionally, the artistic skill of the laboratory technologist creating the crown will determine its esthetic appeal.

One consideration in the porcelain-fused-to-metal crown is that these crowns may tend to show the underlying metal or gold margin at the gum line as gums recede over time. Some patients opt for this type of crown, but replace the crown at a later date in order to maintain a higher esthetic benefit. Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns with an all porcelain collar can eliminate this vulnerability.

Porcelain Fused to Zirconia

For beautiful, durable metal-free crowns and superior color matching, porcelain fused to zirconia is a great solution. Zirconia restorations are backed by 5+ years of proven clinical success. Zirconia restorations are crafted from translucent zirconia, a strong and durable dental ceramic. Dental bonding is used to affix the Zirconia restoration for a beautifully translucent, metal-free restorative solution for front or back crowns or bridges.

All-Ceramic Crowns

The predominant material choice to restore front teeth function and aesthetic is all-ceramic crowns. They provide a metal-free aesthetic option with a number of benefits.

By eliminating the need for the supportive metal core, an aesthetic all-ceramic crown can be created with a relatively reduced thickness of material. The elimination of the metal core allows for light transmission through the porcelain for better optical, life-like properties and a higher level of aesthetics.

All-ceramic materials continue to evolve in strength and durability, but caution should still be exercised for areas of the mouth requiring heavy function. Continuing research is exploring the significant vulnerabilities of the porcelain systems in such areas.

The Empress Crown

The Empress crown is a variation of all-porcelain made from Empress pressed ceramic material. Other ceramic materials include Procera, In-Ceram, and feldspathic porcelain. Each of these materials offers advantages and disadvantages, but you can be assured Sunnyvale cosmetic dentist Dr. Gupta is familiar with these materials and will choose the best material for your dental crown.

Gold Crowns

Although not as popular a treatment choice for aesthetic reasons, gold crowns are still indicated in some instances. At Sunnyvale Dental Care cosmetic office it is our recommendation that patients with strong bites and those with para-functional habits (such as grinding or clenching) might be better served with a gold crown. The traditional restorative material can provide stronger support to the remaining healthy tooth structure. Gold crowns offer a level of durability that is appropriate for teeth located in the back of the mouth (such as the molars), where they will not be highly visible. Gold crowns tend to offer greater longevity and require less preparation than porcelain and porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. When chewing, gold tends to be less abrasive to the opposing tooth than porcelain. This helps to prevent wearing of the teeth.

Contact Sunnyvale cosmetic dentist Dr. Bhawna Gupta DDS to figure out which dental crown is the best for you. .

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