What are Dental Crowns?

A dental crown is used to entirely cover a damaged tooth, that is why some people refer to it as a "cap."  Dental crowns have many important purposes.  They can strengthen a damaged tooth, improve its appearance, shape and alignment.  A crown can also be placed on top of a dental implant to provide a tooth-like shape and structure for proper bite function.  Dr. Cardon may recommend a crown for several reasons: to replace a large filling when there isn't enough healthy tooth structure remaining, protect a weak tooth from fracturing, restore a fractured tooth, attach a dental bridge or cover a dental implant, cover a discolored or abnormally shaped tooth, or cover a tooth that has been treated by root canal therapy. Before a crown can be made, the tooth must be "prepped."  Dr. Cardon will clean out any unhealthy parts of the tooth structure and reduce and shape it so that the crown will properly fit over the tooth.  Next, we'll use a wand-like scanner to take a digital impression to provide an exact mold of your prepared tooth.  We can also provide you with an exact match in tooth color so your smile will remain aesthetically pleasing.  Using the impression, our dental lab will fabricate your permanent crown and Dr. Cardon will place a temporary crown to cover the prepared tooth while the permanent crown is being made.  When your permanent crown is ready, Dr. Cardon will remove your temporary crown and place the new crown by cementing it over your prepared tooth.  You will love your perfectly shaped, colored-matched crown.