A crown is an artificial restoration that fits over the remaining part of a prepared tooth, making it strong and giving it the shape of a natural tooth. A crown is sometimes known as a cap. Crowns are an ideal way to repair and strengthen teeth that have been broken, or have been weakened by decay or a very large filling. A crown could be used for a number of other reasons, for example:
- You may have a discolored filling and would like to improve the appearance of the tooth
- You may have had a root filling and need a crown to protect what is left of the tooth
- Multiple crowns connected to each other help in replacing the missing tooth or teeth.
Crowns can be made of a variety of different materials. They are listed below:
- Metal crowns withstand biting and chewing forces well. Also, metal crowns rarely chip or break. The metallic colour and they tend to wear the opposite teeth are the main drawbacks.
- Porcelain-fused-to-metal dental crowns can be colour matched to your adjacent teeth (unlike the metallic crowns). These crowns can be a good choice for your back teeth.
- All-ceramic or all-porcelain dental crowns provide better natural colour match than any other crown type and may be more suitable for people with metal allergies and an esthetic sensibility.
- Zirconia or milled crowns which are digitally constructed come with very precise engineering and a long term warranty.