Do Dental Crowns Appear Natural, and Can They Last Forever?

January 6, 2022

Dental crowns are restorations for damaged teeth. These restorations help restore the tooth's average size, shape, and functionality. Dental crowns are custom-created in a dental laboratory and appear natural, depending on their location. The Art of Dental Wellness provides ceramic or porcelain dental crowns if you need them for your front teeth. These crowns are customized to resemble your natural teeth and will remain indistinguishable in your mouth.

Unfortunately, dental crowns are not permanent and don't last forever. However, you can prolong the crown's life if you follow the precautions mentioned by the dentist. This article looks closely at different types of crowns and their longevity besides the warning signs indicating a crown in your mouth needs replacement.

Reasons for Getting a Dental Crown

The American Dental Association states if you have a tooth with a large filling without sufficient tooth structure to hold it, a dental crown helps restore and strengthen the tooth. Our Beverly Hills dental office also recommends dental crowns to fix a broken or cracked tooth, protect a weakened tooth from breaking, protect fragile teeth undergoing root canal treatments, and attach dental bridges. In addition, various materials help make dental crowns, with some lasting longer than others.

What Is Involved in Getting a Dental Crown?

When getting dental crowns from your dentist, you must set aside time for at least two visits spanning three weeks. The first visit is to have your tooth examined, ex-rayed, and prepared for restoration by filing the tops and sides.

Our dentist in Beverly Hills, CA, also makes impressions of the prepared tooth by having the dental crown created in a dental laboratory while giving you a temporary crown to protect the prepared tooth.

You revisit the dentist three weeks later when the dental laboratory returns your permanent restoration. The second visit entails removing the temporary crowns, checking the color and fit of the permanent restoration, and cementing it over the prepared tooth to provide you with a tooth restoration, making you proud to show it off.

Most Common Types of Dental Crowns

Different dental crowns are famous for restoring teeth that have suffered damage. Dental crowns depend on the location and durability of your tooth, your remaining natural tooth, and the visibility of the crown when you smile.

If you need dental crowns for anterior teeth, you will find porcelain fused to metal, and zirconia crowns are the most popular offered by dentists because of their tooth-colored appearance. These crowns last 10-15 years with proper dental care or longer. However, they are likely to split and crack if subjected to extreme biting forces.

For over six decades, porcelain fused to metal crowns has been a cosmetic solution for the front teeth. Metals like stainless steel and gold are also famous for their durability for over a century.

Metals are resistant to chipping and cracking and adapt well over the tooth. Gold crowns can last for over ten years, but you can prolong their life for decades with proper care.

Stainless steel may not appear aesthetically pleasing but is incredibly durable, lasting for over a decade, making it a popular choice for restoring molars. Dentists include materials like gold, chromium, palladium, or nickel to keep gold crowns strong and reduce costs.

Which Dental Crown Should You Consider?

You help yourself by discussing your requirement with the dentist in the facility recommended above. Please do not commit the error of selecting a dental crown yourself without advice from your dentist because you may choose the wrong variety for your tooth to realize later the restoration impacts your appearance.

When you visit the dental crown clinic, the dentist recommends the solution best suited for your unique requirements after examining your tooth to determine the extent of the damage. For example, you can have porcelain fused to metal crowns on your molars if you wish.

However, their higher costs and lower durability will likely deter you from having them over the back teeth. In such cases, you benefit by accepting the dentist's advice to have metal crowns over your molars because it results in savings and doesn't require intensive preparation.

Similarly, do not consider gold crowns for your front teeth unless you desire to appear like a gangster from the old mafia movies. Instead, choose a dental crown recommended by the dental facility if you wish to restore your tooth as best possible.