A Teenager's Guide to Braces

A dental crown is a hollow cap that covers a tooth's natural crown, or the area of a tooth that is exposed above the gum line. Dental crowns are used in conjunction with many different types of restorations. Here are a few of them:

Implant Restorations

After a dental implant has been installed and has healed inside the jawbone, a connector is added to the device before the implant is covered by a dental crown. 

Without the crown in place, the implant restoration would not fully restore a lost tooth. The crown's placement restores the patient's ability to chew. Additionally, it restores the uniform appearance of the teeth, eliminating the gap left by the missing tooth.

Conventional Bridge Restorations 

A bridge is a restorative dental device that is made up of false teeth and dental crowns. On a conventional dental bridge, the false teeth lie in the center of the appliance and a dental crown rests on each end of the device.

The crowns of a bridge are used to secure the bridge into position. Each crown covers a tooth that is positioned at the left or right border of the gap that is being filled by the bridge. 

In preparation for the placement of the dental bridge, a portion of tooth material from each bordering tooth is removed to allow the bridge crowns to fit over the teeth in a natural looking manner.

The color of the bridge crowns, as well as that of the false teeth, is matched to the color of the patient's remaining natural teeth.  

Deep Cavity Restorations

A filling alone may not be sufficient to fortify a tooth that has been damaged by decay. Deep cavities may necessitate the removal of so much tooth material that a tooth is no longer strong enough to withstand bite pressure, even after the installation of a filling. 

A dental crown can be used to cover the filled tooth, fortifying it on all sides. 

Pulp Treatments 

Since pulp treatments, such as pulpectomies and root canals, involve the removal of pulp from the interior of a tooth, the treated tooth may lack the structural integrity that it had before the treatment. To ensure that the treated tooth is strengthened and protected, a dental crown is applied after the filling of the hollowed tooth.

For more information about dental crowns and their uses, schedule a consultation with a dentist in your local area.