Placing Dental Crowns
Fountain Valley, CA
 Our smiles reflect our image to other people; they can make or break our confidence. Whenever your teeth are broken, chipped, fractured, or diseased, you might need dental crowns for support, protection, strength, and evening out the teeth’s appearance. Bijan Family Dental Practice may choose dental crowns as a solution for your tooth repair and restoration.
What Are Dental Crowns?
A tooth crown is a tailor-made cap meant to fit your natural tooth that has suffered tooth decay, breaks, discolorations, or other damages. Dental crowns have advanced in their look, strength, and ability to fit seamlessly. These days, dental crowns have become more durable, versatile, and natural-looking.
Various types of crowns can be mounted on teeth, including porcelain, metal, ceramic, zirconia, resin, and porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. Depending on the tooth’s location, you could receive metal crowns or tooth-colored ones fabricated of porcelain or ceramic. The benefits of ceramic crowns, such as their ability to resemble the original teeth and blend with the nearby teeth, make them a choice for some patients.
Crown Placement Procedure
In placing dental crowns, the first appointment focuses on investigating the tooth, prepping it, and fitting temporary crowns. A dentist carries out an exam to check the entire dental structure. Taking an x-ray image of the tooth as well as the jawbone underneath helps provide more details. Any potential damage or decay is highlighted and treatment is provided. A root canal may be conducted if there is pulp tissue infection or damage.
The dentist preps and reshapes the tooth so that it adequately accommodates the crown. Where metal crowns are to be mounted, the extent of trimming would be less since they are generally thinner. With less surface trimmed off, much of the tooth’s structure is retained.
Next, the dentist gets impressions of the reshaped tooth and records the color of the tooth and the adjacent ones. From these details, custom-fitted crowns are sculpted. As you wait to receive these permanent crowns, your tooth gets an interim crown.
After about two weeks, you will be called back for the final crowns. In this second appointment, the dentist starts by removing the interim crowns and compares the new, lasting crowns with your natural smile’s look. If everything is okay, the lasting crowns are mounted and cemented.
Same-Day Crowns
Alternatively, you may choose same-day crowns if the dental office has an in-house crown milling machine. Here, you will not need to wear an interim crown. Your final, lasting crown will be completed within the same day. Once it has been sculpted, it is fitted onto the tooth. The process takes several hours, but in the end, you go home with a fresh, natural-looking smile with beautifully restored teeth.
Aftercare Tips
There may be some sensitivity, irritation, inflammation, or discomfort once you receive the crowns. However, these issues disappear in less than a week. To prolong the life of the crowns, practice careful brushing, flossing, and steering clear of hard foods. Use toothpaste formulated for sensitivity, and if you grind or clench your teeth, get a mouthguard to avert damage to the crowns. Contact Bijan Family Dental Practice for crown placement or call (714) 421-4494 to book an appointment. |
