Dental Crowns in Beaverton, Oregon
Dental Crowns
Dental crowns are essentially tooth-shaped “caps” that restores the appearance, shape, and strength of a tooth. They are constructed from materials such as high-grade porcelain, ceramic, or porcelain bonded to gold.
Having a dental crown is a common procedure in dental offices. However, if you’ve never had a crown before, you may not be familiar with what one is or why it’s needed. If you have anxiety about visiting the dentist or simply want to know more about what to expect, we’re here to answer all of your questions.
Why Do I Need a Dental Crown?
There are a few different reasons why you may need a dental crown. If one of your teeth has broken or is very worn down, it may need a crown on it to prevent it from breaking further. You may also need a crown if you have a large cavity in a tooth or if you have a tooth that is misshapen. Sometimes, crowns are also necessary to help hold your dental bridge in place. Finally, if you have an implant, it will have a crown on top of it so it looks like a natural tooth.
Types of Dental Crowns
Dental crowns are made out of a variety of metals, including gold and stainless steel, resin, porcelain fused to metal, and ceramic. There are various pros and cons to each of these materials. When you need a crown, we will discuss all of your best options and work with you to determine the best material for your crowns based on esthetics, strength, and your bite. An experienced dentist notices these criteria ahead of time and makes a plan for the best-fitted crown before it’s made.
Are Crowns Permanent?
There are times when you may need a temporary crown, but those are almost always simply used until your permanent crown can be manufactured and placed. We can make and install temporary crowns in our Beaverton dentist office, but permanent crowns are made by our skilled lab technicians for a perfect fit and matching shade and it usually takes 2 dental appointment
Will My Crown Need to Be Replaced?
Yes, dental crowns do eventually wear down and need replacing. How long your crown will last depends on the material it’s made out of, your oral hygiene habits, your eating habits and how much wear and tear the crown goes through. It’s also possible that an injury could knock your crown loose or even break it.
What is the Dental Crown Procedure?
The process of creating and installing a crown requires three visits to our Beaverton office. At your first visit, Dr. Zavari will examine the area and determine if a crown is needed. If it is, she’ll have you back for a prep visit. Here, she cleans out the tooth and we take X-rays so she can get a good look at the roots and bone around that tooth. Depending on the amount of decay and other factors, it’s possible she may have to do a root canal first.
Your tooth will need to be reshaped to make space for the crown. She will numb the area before doing this, so you won’t feel any pain. If your tooth is broken or has a large cavity in it, we may not need to do any filing. Instead, we may need to add filing material to the area to provide support from the crown.
Once the tooth is ready, we take an impression of it and send that impression away to our experienced and skilled local lab technician. This ensures the crown fits perfectly in your mouth and doesn’t affect your speech or your bite. We then fabricate a temporary crown until the permanent crown is ready.
Normally, we have the finished crown within two to three weeks. You’ll come in and have the temporary crown removed. Again, we may numb the area if necessary. The permanent crown is then installed using special dental cement.
Is There Any Special Care for a Tooth Crown?
The only thing different with a crown is to avoid sticky candies like taffy which can stick to the tooth and loosen the crown. Otherwise, you care for your crowned tooth the same way you would any other teeth—brush twice a day and floss regularly. Also, it’s better to spend a little extra time flossing around the tooth with the crown to make sure it’s free of particles and food debris.
Do you need a crown, or are you having issues with a crown you already have? Call Dr. Zavari’s office today to schedule an appointment.