We want the best dental care for ourselves and our family, and part of having good dental care means using a dentist who offers several options in dental treatments. There’s no, “One size fits all” in dental service. The mark of a good dentist is their ability to make use of a wide range of dental techniques and practices to customize a treatment plan for you, for your spouse, and for your kids. With service like that, everyone can have the best smiles that they can possibly get, and everyone can have the healthiest teeth, mouth, and gums too.
Ceramic dental crowns are an important treatment option at any dental office. Crowns serve a variety of purposes, from improving the cosmetic appeal of a tooth or teeth to repairing or strengthening a cracked or damaged tooth, to completing a root canal treatment, to holding a dental bridge in place, etc.
One of the many benefits to ceramic crowns is that this treatment approach is highly adjustable and customizable, patient to patient. Ceramic crowns can be molded to just about any type of tooth, and they last for many years.
How Ceramic Dental Crowns Work
A dental “crown” has a fitting name because what a crown is is a ceramic, porcelain, or metal cap that essentially covers or “caps” a tooth. Sometimes, crowns are made of both metal and ceramic bonded on top of the metal, to increase aesthetic appeal without sacrificing any durability.
Ceramic crowns work by completely encasing a tooth. First, the tooth is filed down a bit so it can accept the crown without overcrowding other teeth in the mouth. Then, the dentist makes a mold of the tooth and uses that mold to create a custom, uniquely fitted ceramic crown. The dentist will even match the color of the crown to the color of the patient’s teeth. Once made, the crown is installed over the tooth, and the dentist will ensure proper fit, alignment, bite, etc. Finally, the crown is cemented in place. A follow-up visit is recommended, to ensure that the crown is performing its functions properly.
Four Reasons Why Ceramic Crown Treatments are a Good Choice
Ceramic dental crowns offer the benefit of improving cosmetic appeal while fixing an underlying problem, all at the same time. This is not a simple repair action. This is a permanent fix, a complete change in one’s mouth that will reduce pain, repair damage, and increase visual appeal.
Let’s take a look at a few scenarios where ceramic dental crowns would be a wise choice:
- Dental crowns can protect a weak tooth from further breakage. If a tooth has already been weakened due to cavities or infected root canals, sometimes a root canal procedure or cavity filling is not enough to repair a severely weakened tooth. In this case, placing a ceramic dental crown over the tooth fully encases the tooth from the gum line up, protecting it from further damage and risk, and improving its appearance too.
- Sometimes, individuals can have a “problem tooth.” This could be a tooth with particularly weak enamel, a somewhat loose tooth, a tooth that is extra-sensitive, a chipping tooth, etc. A dental crown can be used here as a preventative measure, not only to strengthen the tooth but to prevent any future damage to it as well.
- Dental crowns are almost always used as a complement to a root canal treatment. Once a root canal has been completed, the tooth above the root canal needs something to cover the open access to the roots, and a standard filling is not substantial in this scenario. A porcelain or ceramic or even gold crown, in this case, is used to “cap” the tooth, preventing any bacteria or foreign substances from being able to get to the root of the tooth again.
- Dental crowns are also used to anchor dental bridges. A dental bridge is a process used to repair gaps between teeth that are caused by a missing tooth. Such crowns can act as anchor points to help stabilize the bridge and dental implant.
Ceramic crowns have other uses too. If you think a dental crown might be the right option for you or one of your family members, have a chat with your family dentist about it, and see if this is the right route for you.
