A dental Crown is a porcelain or metal covering or cap that is placed over a tooth that requires more strength and stability.
Why does the patient require a Crown?
The patient may have had a Root Canal Treatment which can weaken the tooth.
The patient may have extensive caries; the tooth may be so far decayed that a filling will no longer be sufficient to support the tooth.
The tooth has broken badly and a filling will no longer suffice.
The patient may be grinding at night (Bruxism) and have worn the teeth down so much that a crown is the only option left.
A lifestyle of poor diet choices may have led to erosion which has led to crowns being the choice due to fillings being unsuitable.
People can request a crown for cosmetic reasons too, be it because of discolouration or the patient is not happy with the shape or size of the normal tooth.
What is a Crown constructed of?
Crowns can be constructed using a porcelain material which is fused onto a metal backing which gives strength. This type of crown is popular due to the fact that the metal gives more strength to the bite. This can be necessary depending on how heavy the patients bite is and therefore how much strain is going to be placed on the crown, especially if the patient , for example is grinding at night (Bruxism). This type of crown is available on the NHS from 5 to 5, upper and lower and is available privately too with the private crown being more expensive but more fine and natural looking.
For the Molars, the NHS will only approve a silver coloured crown which consists of an alloy of metals. This crown will function just as well as if it had porcelain on it; it is just not as aesthetically pleasing. The patient will have the option to pay privately for a porcelain bonded crown if they wish to have a natural look within their mouths. Thos of course carries a private fee.
There are more expensive, private crowns available for anterior teeth which will not contain any metal, such as Lava crowns with a material called Zirconium Oxide which will give a very natural look to the crown as it will have no shadow of metal and will have the translucency of a natural tooth.
There are many shades of crown that is available from darker yellowish shades right up to very white bleached shades. It is recommended that if the patient has intention to whiten their teeth, to do it prior to the crown preparation due to the fact that crowns, bridges and veneers do not whiten with the whitening treatment.
