Crowning Teeth to Preserve Your Smile
While general dental care is the routine preservation of your smile, restorative dentistry has long been a necessary part of achieving that goal. Teeth are commonly affected by issues such as fractures and breaks, or by excessive wear that makes them structurally weaker. Restorations such as dental crowns help teeth bounce back from these concerns by repairing and fortifying their natural structures. For example, a dental crown (or cap) can be placed over a tooth that has been damaged to both restore its structure and protect it from sustaining further damage.
Cracked teeth
If you experience discomfort when eating food or drinking liquids that are hot or cold, you may have a cracked tooth. Fractures in teeth sometimes occur in patients who grind their teeth, have large fillings, or root canals. Your back molars are more susceptible to cracks due to their role in biting and chewing. Depending on the nature of the crack, a dental crown may be recommended to repair it.
What is a dental crown?
A dental crown is essentially a replica of your tooth, and is designed to be bonded in place over it. This serves several important purposes, including restoring the tooth to stop the damage from growing any worse. Also, by covering your tooth’s entire visible structure, the crown can take the brunt of your bite’s pressure in place of the compromised tooth structure underneath it. This helps fully restore your bite’s function while avoiding placing your damaged tooth structure under more pressure. For optimal restorative and cosmetic results, we often recommend placing custom-designed porcelain dental crowns, which not only restore teeth but also help improve their healthy, natural appearance.
When is a partial crown a better idea?
While traditional dental crowns are designed to completely cap a tooth’s structure, many of today’s modern crowns are designed as partial tooth restorations. Placing a full crown requires modifying your tooth’s entire crown to accommodate the restoration. However, a partial crown can be placed on just a portion of your tooth – the part that needs to be restored – without having to cover the rest of your healthy, natural tooth structure. Often made from highly lifelike dental porcelain, partial crowns (also known as inlays and onlays) can offer highly effective restorative results while minimizing the amount of tooth structure that needs to be sculpted to accommodate them.
Call us to save your tooth with a custom crown
A custom-designed dental crown can both restore your tooth and improve its appearance, depending on your tooth’s specific needs and your own personal preferences. To schedule a consultation with us, call Dreem Dentistry in Leawood, KS, today at 913-681-5500. We also serve patients who live in Overland Park, South KC, South OP, Martin City, MO, and all surrounding communities.
