Crowns

Crowns, also known as caps, are commonly used to restore badly damaged teeth. A crown covers a large part of the tooth and mimics the shape, size and colour of a natural looking tooth and the surrounding teeth. A crown can make a huge improvement to your biting function and the appearance of your smile.

Crowns strengthen and protect the remaining tooth structure and can be used to:

• Reinforce cracked teeth and teeth with deep cavities;
• Protect teeth that have been filled by root canal treatment;
• Provide extra support for bridges;
• Prevent sensitive teeth or heavily restored teeth from needing root canal treatment; and
• Cover poorly shaped or discoloured teeth.

Crowns are made of metal, porcelain, or newer more tooth-looking restorative materials. Many crowns use a combination of these materials to achieve the right balance of good strength and aesthetics. We have ensured that the continuing education of our staff keeps abreast of the latest improvements in the selection and the application of these modern materials.

Crowns are custom-made and fitted to each tooth to enhance your bite and smile. To prepare a tooth for a crown, the tooth is reshaped so that the crown can fit snugly over it. An accurate impression of the prepared teeth and gums is critical to ensure an accurate fit. This is one of many stages that we take all possible care and steps to get perfectly right, before the impression is finally sent to our experienced dental laboratory for the crown fabrication.

A provisional crown is fitted over the prepared tooth until a permanent crown is made. On the next visit, we remove the provisional crown and permanently fix the crown onto the tooth.

The main drawback with crowns, being over $1,000, is its immediate cost compared to general fillings. This expense is due to the crown-making process using more costly materials and taking a greater deal of clinical and laboratory time to make, than is involved with general fillings. This process ensures that our experienced Dental Technicians have the right amount of time to carefully fabricate the crown; and that they can use the state-of-art materials and equipment to achieve the optimal aesthetic result. Any cost-cutting involved with crowns can lead to a badly fitting crown and substantially reduce many few years of its potential use.

A great looking and snug-fitting crown will provide many years of enjoyment compared to any other type of filling in that: The crown achieves exceptionally better aesthetic results. The crown’s material is exceptionally smooth and resistant to staining and the formation of bacteria colonising plaque.

For optimal results, we use a digital spectrophotometer and intra-oral cameras to precisely record the colour of your teeth and better communicate this information to our dental laboratory staff.