Dental restoration with crowns is one of the options for restoring lost dental units. A tooth crown can restore both the functionality and aesthetics of a tooth in the same way. Crowns can also be recommended if the tooth is severely decayed due to decay (more than 50%).
Crown placement is a multi-step procedure that has its own peculiarities, which you can learn about in detail in this article.
When is dental restoration with crowns indicated?
The procedure of placing a crown on a tooth has its own indications, including:
- Destruction of the crown part of the tooth by the carious process by more than 50%;
- Traumatic damage to the tooth unit, in which its roots have retained viability and are not damaged;
- Aesthetic defects that cannot be eliminated using other technologies: noticeable chips in the enamel, discoloration of the enamel coating, cracks.
A dentist may recommend the installation of temporary crowns for a patient with periodontitis: the procedure will help to avoid further loosening of teeth and prevent their loss in the future.
Restoration with crowns is contraindicated in:
- In certain blood pathologies;
- Allergies to local anesthetics;
- In the presence of chronic diseases of the body in the stage of exacerbation;
- In the presence of mental disorders.
Contraindications to the installation of crowns are identified in the course of preparation for the prosthetic procedure and diagnostic tests.
Stages of treatment: how to prepare for a crown on a tooth
Below we’ll go into detail about each of the stages of crown dentures, and if you’d like to get advice directly from a specialist, call and make an appointment with the dentists at our Brickell Dental Care clinic.
Examination and Diagnosis
The treatment process begins with a visit to the dentist’s office. The specialist will carefully examine the patient’s oral cavity, identify any problems, and, if necessary, prescribe a number of additional diagnostic measures. Based on the information gathered from the case, the dentist will draw up a detailed treatment plan and offer the patient all possible prosthetic options.
A well-designed treatment plan necessarily takes into account not only the placement of a dental crown, but also additional procedures:
- Removal of teeth whose restoration and treatment is impossible for objective reasons;
- Preliminary treatment of diagnosed diseases of teeth and gums;
- Treatment of tooth canals and their filling (carried out when deciding to depulpate the tooth before placing the crown);
- Professional oral hygiene. Oral hygiene before prosthetics should be carried out to completely remove hard and soft plaque from the surface of the teeth. The measure will allow the most accurate matching of the crown to the color of the natural enamel of the patient’s teeth, as well as positively affect the quality of treatment.
The treatment plan is finalized by selecting a specific type of dental crowns, after which the total cost of prosthetics is calculated and the timeframe is agreed upon.
Preparatory phase
The length of the preparatory phase depends on what procedures will need to be carried out prior to dentures to ensure a quality and long-lasting result. Below we will take a closer look at all the possible stages of preparation for crown dentures.
Professional teeth cleaning
It is impossible to do without a professional cleaning of the teeth before crowns are placed. The procedure is necessary for complete and qualitative elimination of all types of dental plaque and accurate selection of the shade of the future crown – it must be identical to the natural color of enamel. Sanitation is not included in the price of crown placement and is paid separately.
Depulping (removal of the tooth nerve)
Until a few years ago, teeth had to be depulped before crowns could be placed. But modern dentists, if the clinical case allows it, try to keep the teeth viable and do without nerve removal. A tooth with a preserved pulp is not deprived of a full nutrition of minerals and useful substances, does not acquire increased fragility. Crowns placed on living teeth last longer, but unfortunately it is not always possible to refuse depulping.
Most often the front teeth are depulped, but the chewing teeth are kept alive. They have a large enough area of the natural crown, in them the distance from the enamel to the pulp chamber is much greater, and therefore the risk of burning the nerve bundle when installing a crown will be minimal.
Treatment of tooth and gum diseases
If during a visual inspection of the oral cavity the dentist discovers decay, signs of inflammation, these conditions must be eliminated before the crowns are placed. If the tooth is significantly destroyed by decay, the dentist removes the affected tissues and restores the crown part by installing a strong filling. Pulpitis and periodontitis are treated according to a more complex scheme, including the treatment of dental canals, their filling.
Preparation of supporting teeth
Preparation (grinding of teeth) is an obligatory preparatory measure for the placement of crowns, because the natural shape of teeth has irregularities that do not allow to achieve a tight fit of the crown to the stump. Microscopic gaps between the installed structure and the natural tooth tissue will interfere with the strong fixation of the dental crown, as well as create a favorable environment for the growth of bacteria and the development of inflammation. By grinding the tooth, the dentist will shape the residual limb to allow for proper and secure placement of the crown.
Laboratory stage – taking impressions, fabrication of prosthesis
After grinding, an impression is taken of the teeth to create an accurate model for the fabrication of the prosthesis. To obtain a high-quality, anatomically accurate impression of the teeth for the production of the crown, a specialized highly elastic mass based on silicone is used. The impression must meet a number of requirements: it must exactly replicate the anatomical relief of the oral cavity, and the impression material must not shrink or deform over time.
So that the patient does not have to walk around with an unsightly residual limb during the entire period of crown production, a temporary prosthesis is placed on it for this period. Temporary crowns are made of plastic, their installation allows the patient to get rid of psychological discomfort, as well as protect the prepared vulnerable teeth from the action of pathogenic microflora and harmful environmental factors.
Fabrication, fitting and permanent fixation of a dental crown
In the case of metal-ceramics, if the crown fits perfectly on the residual limb at the fitting, the framework is transferred to the laboratory, where it will be covered with a finishing layer – ceramic mass. The finished crown is tried on for a second time and at the second fitting it will be fixed to the temporary cement mortar. The second test is required to evaluate the quality of contact between the prosthesis and the antagonist teeth and if it goes well, the crown will be placed on the tooth with permanent cement.
The treatment is completed with a detailed consultation from the dentist on the care of the denture and the oral cavity after the denture. Following the specialist’s recommendations ensures that there are no negative adverse reactions or complications after the crown is placed.
Our clinic Brickell Dental Care is equipped with high-tech equipment, which allows us to carry out prosthetics quickly, efficiently and with durable results. In their work, our specialists actively use innovative technologies and materials from the best manufacturers, and therefore, if you turn to us, you can have no doubts about the quality and safety of treatment!
Call our Brickell Dental Care at (407) 863 6487 or online at the website. We can make same-day appointments.