A crown is a cap that sits over the whole tooth. We recommend one when there is no longer enough sound structure left for a filling to be trusted — typically after root canal treatment, beneath a very large old restoration, or on a tooth that has started to craze and crack.
Think of it as the difference between patching a wall and bracing it. A filling relies on the surrounding tooth to hold everything in place; once those walls thin out they begin to flex under chewing, and flexing eventually becomes a fracture. Fractures that travel below the gum are the ones we cannot repair, so a crown is really a way of not reaching that point.
Expect two appointments a couple of weeks apart. At the first we reshape the tooth, record its shape and fit a temporary; at the second the finished crown goes on. Shade is matched to the neighboring teeth, so nobody should be able to pick out which tooth was treated.
Common questions
How long will it last?
Most last well beyond a decade. When one does fail it is usually because decay has started at the join between crown and tooth, which is exactly the kind of thing a six-monthly check catches early.
Could you just fill it instead?
Occasionally, and we would rather do the smaller thing when it is safe. It comes down to how much healthy tooth remains — we will look at the X-ray together and talk it through before deciding.
Is the appointment uncomfortable?
The tooth is numbed while it is prepared. A little sensitivity while the temporary is in place is normal and disappears once the permanent crown is cemented.
Questions about dental crowns?
Call the office and ask. We'd rather talk it through than have you guess from a website.