Dental crowns are for teeth that need more than a filling! They will provide you with a strong, good looking tooth with long lasting results.
A crown will improve the appearance of your tooth whilst also at the same creating, creating strength and preventing fractures. Sometimes known as a cap, crowns are carefully fitted sleeves that sit over an existing tooth to protect it from further damage, and to improve your overall smile.
A crown is likely to be required if there is no longer enough healthy tooth tissue left to sufficiently hold a filling or used to cover and protect damaged or weak teeth. Crowns can help to hold cracked teeth together and support bridges, and they are often applied as the final step in root canal treatment to add longevity to the treatment. They can also cover discoloured or misshapen teeth to improve the appearance of your teeth.
There are many options, but for 95% of our crowns at Widcombe Dental we use Emax which can be bonded directly to the tooth and they look very natural.
However, this may depend on your specific dentition and is best to discuss with your clinician. Other materials can include the following:
A permanent crown can last between five and 15 years, depending on your habits, lifestyle and oral care routine. Teeth grinding can put pressure on a crown, leading to cracks and possible damage. If you know that you suffer from clenching or grinding, speak to your clinician and they will be able to provide you with advice and possible solutions (such as a mouthguard/splint) to help protect your crown and keep it looking its best into the future.
You can treat your crown like a normal tooth. While it does not require any particular care, remember that it acts as a sleeve over the top of your natural tooth and so decay and gum disease can still occur without a good oral health routine. Keep up regular visits to Widcombe Dental and remember to continue to floss around the tooth and clean interdentally. When flossing, try to pull the floss through your teeth rather than upwards – sometimes pulling up and out can catch on your crown and contribute to wear and tear.
Our Dental Crowns start from £1100 for an adult tooth.
We offer dental crowns for children as well as adults. For younger patients we use stainless steel crowns which are a long-lasting and pain-free solution to protecting decaying baby teeth. Read our full guide to children’s stainless steel crowns for more information.
Preparation time will vary depending on the condition of the damaged tooth. Your tooth will be carefully reshaped to ensure that it can carry the crown, and we will always endeavour to remove the least amount of the original tooth that we can for this treatment.
Your dentist will take a digital scan of the tooth which is not only exceptionally accurate, but will also avoid the need for traditional impressions to be taken. The scan is then sent to a state-of-the-art digital dental laboratory (lab) where a team of technicians’ use sophisticated computers to design your custom crown. These technicians alongside specialist ceramicists will manufacture from scratch a crown that matches the colour and shape of the adjacent teeth. Treatment is usually provided over 2 visits. After the tooth is prepared and the digital scan is taken at the first appointment, a temporary crown is worn to protect the tooth for around 2 weeks while the crown is made.
