Dental Crowns in San Antonio, TX
When Are Dental Crowns Used?
A dental crown is a tooth restoration procedure used by a dentist to improve a tooth’s shape or to strengthen a weak tooth. Crowns are most often used for teeth that are broken, worn, or have portions destroyed by tooth decay. In many cases, crowns can even be used to protect a cracked tooth.
A is often used in combination with other dental procedures.
When undergoing root canal therapy, a crown may be placed on top of your tooth to protect it as the final step of the root canal. According to the American Association of Endodontists, a dental crown is more likely to be used for a root canal when working with teeth toward the back of your mouth (like molars).
A dental crown is also used as part of a dental implant. A dental implant is used to replace a missing tooth. For more information, see our dental implants page.
What is a Dental Crown?
A crown is a covering placed over the tooth’s surface, restoring the tooth’s strength and appearance. Dental crowns can be made of different materials. They are frequently made of ceramics like porcelain, but you can also get a highly durable metal crown – which is best suited for teeth located in the back of the mouth – like molars.
A dental crown can function in many different ways. It helps hold a dental bridge in place, covers and protects a broken tooth, strengthens it, and prevents teeth with large fillings from fracturing.
A crown is a “cap” cemented onto an existing damaged tooth and covers the portion of your tooth above the gum line. In effect, the crown becomes your tooth’s new outer surface. Crowns can be made of porcelain, metal, or both. Porcelain crowns are most often preferred because they mimic the translucency of natural teeth and are very strong.
Crowns or onlays (partial crowns) are needed when insufficient tooth strength remains to hold a filling. Unlike fillings, which apply restorative material directly into your mouth, a crown is fabricated away from your mouth.
The Dental Crown Process
Our San Antonio dentist Dr. Jabbour will perform a complete dental exam that includes x-rays of your tooth and surrounding teeth to check for signs of damage or decay.
If Dr. Jabbour believes that a crown can help your tooth, he will take an impression of your tooth and fit you with a temporary crown. The temporary crown will support your weak tooth – but you should avoid hard or sticky foods until your permanent crown arrives.
Your permanent crown is created in a lab from your unique tooth impression, which allows a dental laboratory technician to examine all aspects of your bite and jaw movements. Your crown is then sculpted just for you so that your bite and jaw movements function normally once the crown is placed. Once your crown is placed, it will look and function like your natural tooth.
Avoiding Tooth Loss
A big advantage of a dental crown is that you can avoid a more invasive and costly dental procedure by protecting your damaged tooth with a crown.
Left untreated, a damaged tooth won’t get better on its own. It may be prone to infection or additional damage. This can result in a tooth extraction requiring you to replace the missing tooth with a dental implant or other restorative procedure.
Contact Our Dental Office
For more information about dental crowns, or any of our emergency dental services, reach out and contact Blanco Crossing Dental today!
Frequently Asked Questions About Dental Crowns
What are CEREC Same Day Crowns?
Same Day Crowns are crowns that are placed in one day. Traditional crowns require two trips to the dentist’s office – with CEREC Same Day Crowns, it only requires one trip to the dental office. There are some drawbacks for CEREC crowns.
We currently don’t offer same day crowns at our San Antonio dental office.
Same day crowns tend to be more expensive due to the additional equipment and training required. They also may not have quite the strength of traditional crowns and in some cases may not be suitable for molars.
