In modern dentistry, crowns are quite common. They’re regularly used to restore damaged teeth in order to create an aesthetically pleasing smile. They work very simply by creating a cap over a damaged tooth or implant. But while they can make a big difference in terms of the aesthetics of a patient’s smile, they also restore functionality to damaged teeth and you don’t have to have the damaged tooth removed in order to have the crown installed. There are a number of important benefits of porcelain crowns that patients should consider if they have damaged teeth that need to be restored. Porcelain is an excellent material to use for dental restorations. It blends with the patient’s natural teeth, it’s cost effective, and the treatment is long-lasting.
If you are in need of a dental crown because you have a damaged tooth, we’ll first examine your mouth and your oral health thoroughly at Green Tree Dental to determine what kind of treatment and material would be best suited for your condition. Your teeth and gums will have to be examined to make sure that they’re healthy enough to accept the new porcelain crowns. Next, the teeth must be shaped and made into an abutment on which the new crown will be fitted. We remove any decayed areas of the tooth so that all that’s left is healthy, natural tooth tissue. We use this natural tooth tissue and cement the porcelain crown onto it to create a strong fit. The ability to use the natural tooth tissue is an advantage to having porcelain crowns fitted to replace damaged teeth.
Patients who have lost a natural tooth either as a result of injury or because it was extracted, must first get a dental implant before they can have a porcelain crown fitted. The implant will function as a root to keep the dental crown solidly in place whenever the patient eats, smiles, or laughs. The crown itself is created in a dental laboratory from a mold of your teeth that’s used to create the crown’s shape and size to perfectly fit your bite and dental arch. At Green Tree Dental, we use computer technology to achieve a higher level of precision. Porcelain crowns are made to fit the patient’s mouth precisely which is just another advantage of using this type of material for dental restorations.
At Green Tree Dental, we regularly use dental crowns to make it possible for patients to keep their natural tooth even if it’s been damaged in some way. Porcelain is the material of choice for crowns, but there are other types of material available such as gold, silver, or resin. There is also a type of porcelain that’s infused with metal that can be used to make crowns as well. As a general rule, porcelain is the best choice for crowns unless the patient has problems with teeth grinding. Then, a stronger material such as gold may be a better choice.
There are several reasons why porcelain crowns are the best type of material to use for crowns. First of all, this type of material can easily be matched to the color of the patient’s natural teeth. Silver and gold crowns, in contrast are very noticeable. But even if patients open their mouths wide, porcelain crowns tend to blend in with the teeth in the rest of the mouth.
Another compelling benefit to porcelain crowns is that they’re cheaper than other materials that could be used for teeth restoration. Silver and gold crowns are expensive and as a result, impractical for a lot of patients. And while composite resin is a little bit cheaper than porcelain, it isn’t as strong, so patients may find that they have to return to the dentist again and again to have their restorations redone. At Green Tree Dental, we offer porcelain crowns to patients because they’re cost effective, reasonably durable, and patients see the best aesthetic results using this type of material.
In terms of durability, porcelain crowns tend to last for 10 years or longer. Of course, this depends on the patient though. For some patients, crowns last for a lifetime and never need to be replaced. In situations where teeth grinding is a problem, the dentist may recommend a more durable material, but most patients see excellent results in terms of durability using porcelain.
One important consideration in terms of any dental treatment is biocompatibility of the materials being used. At Green Tree Dental, biocompatibility is one of the main reasons why we like to use porcelain for dental crowns. Porcelain is a very safe material that’s compatible biologically with the human body. Metal crowns can sometimes cause allergic reactions, but porcelain doesn’t cause this kind of problem.
Whereas metal crowns are very heavy on the teeth, porcelain crowns are much more lightweight and can be perfectly molded to fit the patient’s mouth. As a result, the porcelain material is much more comfortable when the patient eats in addition to the other benefits that this material has to offer.
Getting a porcelain crown placed in the mouth takes very little time and the effects are immediately noticeable. As a result, convenience is an important benefit that can’t be overlooked. In some instances, the porcelain crown can be customized and patients can complete the restorative treatment within only one day. That means that patients can experience the aesthetic benefits of porcelain crowns immediately.
A dental crown is necessary if a tooth is broken, cracked, or decaying in a way that makes it impossible to save the tooth. Porcelain crowns can be used to fix minor cosmetic issues caused by misshapen teeth or discoloration. Not long ago, these issues couldn’t be resolved with gold, platinum, tin, or silver because metal crowns do not in any way resemble the appearance of natural teeth.
Finally, porcelain dental crowns feel more natural in the mouth than metal crowns or crowns made of other materials. Because each crown is customized to resemble the natural tooth that it replaces, they feel more natural in the mouth. Because the durability of porcelain is roughly the same as the durability of tooth enamel, most of our patients find that once the porcelain crown is in place, the look and feel is almost identical to that of their real, natural teeth.
