Dental Crowns Baytown

You might think of a dental crown as a “cap” for the tooth. Unlike fillings that only replace the enamel in areas where it was lost, crowns cover the visible portions of teeth. Each restoration is fully personalized depending on the patient’s needs, so the crown will fit perfectly in the mouth and blend in with the other teeth. When made out of tooth-colored materials, crowns can match the rest of the smile so closely that most people don’t even realize that dental work was performed in the first place.

A dental crown is usually recommended in the following situations:

• A tooth has been weakened by an injury or severe decay that can’t be corrected with another restoration.
• A tooth needs to be repaired after root canal therapy is complete.
• A tooth was broken in an accident and needs to be repaired.
• A tooth is badly discolored and won’t respond to professional whitening.
• You need a crown to hold a bridge in place or to cover an implant to replace a missing tooth.

Your dental crown will be placed in about two visits. During the first visit, the tooth being restored will need to be prepared. Small amounts of enamel are removed to make room for the crown; if this step were skipped, the tooth would end up looking bulky in comparison to the rest of the smile. After preparations are made, we can take an impression of the tooth. The impression is then sent to a dental lab so that they can personalize your crown.

It can take a few weeks for the final crown to be made. You might wear a temporary crown during this time to keep your tooth safe. On the day of your second visit, we’ll adjust the crown’s shape, fit, and color as necessary. Then we’ll use a special cement to attach it to the tooth so that it can be used for biting and chewing right away.

Dental crowns allow you to save teeth that might otherwise eventually need to be extracted. They’re a good option for the long term, lasting between 5 to 15 years on average with the right maintenance. Thanks to the strong, long-lasting materials they’re made of as well as the state-of-the-art techniques used to design and place them, dental crowns have an extremely high success rate.