Dental crowns are caps placed on top of damaged teeth. Crowns are used to protect, cover and restore the shape of your teeth when fillings don’t solve the problem. It can improve the way a decayed or broken tooth looks and make it stronger and longer lasting. Dental crowns can be made out of metals, porcelain, resin and ceramics.
Dental crowns can be used to cover a broken or decayed tooth when too much of the original tooth is missing, such as after root canal treatment. They are also used to protect a weak tooth from breaking, and to cover stained or badly shaped teeth or to hold a bridge or denture in place.
The dentist will usually prepare the tooth by removing a layer of its outer surface. The crown will be the same thickness as the thickness of this removed layer.
To make a crown, the dentist takes a mould of the tooth and sends it away to a technician who will prepare the crown. It can often be matched to the colour of the other teeth, so it will blend in.
You might be given a temporary crown to get you through until the permanent crown is made.
When the permanent crown is ready, the dentist fits it in place using dental cement or adhesive.
