When a Dental Crown may be required?

After the removal of extensive decay

Once the soft decay has been removed from the tooth if it is quite large then a filling that is bonded/glued to the tooth risks breaking or debonding off. If this occurs then your oral health practitioner may suggest something stronger before or after this occurs. In this situation a crown may be ideal.

After a your tooth/teeth have gone through heavy wear

If you have a strong bite or have ground your tooth/teeth down, your oral health practitioner may suggest a crown to protect your tooth/teeth, this may be also used to rebuild your bite at the same time.

If you have a symptomatic Broken/Cracked Tooth

If there is a crack causing pain this may be due to the flexing of the crack. Your oral health practitioner may use a metal band which is a short term fix to diagnosis this. If it improves they may suggest the use of a crown to protect that area.

After Root Canal Treatment

Once the infection has been removed from the inside of the tooth, it can leave the tooth vulnerable to re-infection as well as risk of breaking from heavy biting force. As a result it is often recommended that you protect the tooth with a crown after root canal treatment.

If your tooth has multiple fillings

If the tooth has multiple fillings joined this always multiple stress points where there can be leaky margins for decay or risk of breaking. As a result your oral health practitioner may suggest a crown in these cases.

Different Crown Materials

All Ceramic

The main advantage of all ceramics is the aesthetics, all ceramics tend to look the most like teeth. They take up less space then PFMs, as a result they are often used for aesthetic cases. The disadvantage has been deterioration of mechanical properties. In the past, all ceramics were not as strong as alternative options, but each new version they are improving the strength. In the future with further research and improvements this may be the new gold standard.

Porcelain Fused Metal (PFM)

This is a mixture of both ceramic and metal. As result it combines both the aesthetics of porcelain with the strength capabilities of metal. Taking the advantages of both of these materials. The disadvantage of this, is there is often the risk of chipping porcelain and having a metal strip around the gums, which can affect the aesthetics. Due to having two materials joined this crowns often need more space as well.

Gold (Precious)

Ironically, Gold is often referred to as the gold standard for dental crowns. The reason why gold is highly favourable for dental crowns is due to its longevity, functionality and biocompatibility. This material is very versatile, its properties allow it to have a lower hardness than the outer layer of the tooth (Enamel) which reduces wear on opposing teeth but stronger enough mechanically to withstand the forces a tooth needs to undergo. The main disadvantage with gold is the cost, colour and aesthetics.

Metal (Non Previous)

Metal similar to gold, it has good mechanical properties and is ideal for people with very strong bites. It is often used when gold is not available due to cost.The main disadvantage with metal is the colour and aesthetics.