Dental Crowns

Once you have a dental crown, your teeth will become stronger and more attractive.  This is because crowns are designed and created in order to look natural while also improving your tooth’s appearance.  These crowns will last for up to 8 years but they can last even longer if you observe good oral hygiene and avoid grinding your teeth, chewing ice or biting your fingernails.

Crowns are usually made from porcelain or resin.  This makes them very aesthetically satisfying since this material comes in various shades that can be easily matched to the color of your surrounding teeth.  However, with porcelain crowns you will have to have more tooth structure removed because the porcelain needs to have a specific thickness in order for it to appear attractive.  These crown are also more difficult to fit in between your gums and this can lead to gingivitis inflammation.  Another drawback to all-porcelain crowns is that they can sometimes chip.  A composite resin can be used to repair a small chip but with an extensive chip the crown may need to be replaced.  In order to minimize these disadvantages, an alternative porcelain fused-to-metal crown can be made.  This has a very natural look but since it has a metal base there will be a darker line that is noticeable near your gum line as time goes by.

Some people also choose to have their crowns made from gold because this is a simple process without many complications.  Herein only a very minimal amount of the tooth structure has to be removed.  It is also easier to fit these crowns, which do not cause any wearing on opposing teeth even after several years.  The only disadvantage is that they do not look appealing or attractive in the front of your mouth.

There are some drawbacks to getting crowns:
1.Your crowned tooth may have a retained nerve in it.  This will cause you to experience some hot and cold sensitivity, especially between the edge of the crown and your gum line.  In order to minimize this, you simply need to brush with toothpaste that has been specially designed for sensitive teeth.
2.You may have pain that occurs whenever you are biting.  This is because the crown has been set too high on your tooth.  Your dentist can easily fix this problem.
3.Whenever cement washes out from under your crown, your crown may become loose and allow bacteria to leak in and cause decay to your remaining tooth.
4.Sometimes crowns may also fall off because of improper fit or lack of cement surrounding the crown.  If this happens, make sure to clean and save the crown until you can get to the dentist.

All of these disadvantages can be prevented if you refrain from chewing hard food or biting on such hard objects as ice.  You will also need to refrain from grinding your teeth.  Otherwise you will simply need to have regular visits to your dentist, brush your teeth twice daily and make sure to clean between your teeth by either flossing or using an interdental cleaner.  This is important because plaque around your crowns can cause dental decay and gum disease.
 

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