Caps and Crowns

A crown is a cover that fits over a tooth that has been damaged by decay, broken, badly stained or mis-shaped. It’s prepared by your dentist and sometimes requires more than one visit to complete.

All crowns made chairside with our Cad Cam system or Cerec are made of porcelain. These are done all in one appointment. While porcelain is the material of choice, there are times where porcelain bonded to metal is stronger and better for crowns in the back of the mouth for patients who grind or clench. In that case we would use an outside Lab to create this porcelain bonded to metal which means two (2) appointments. Sometimes all-metal crowns are used for back teeth or bridges for added strength.

To prepare your tooth for a crown, the tooth is first frozen with anesthesia, and then filed down so the crown can fit over it. A 3D picture of the teeth and gums is made, then the dentist designs the new tooth on a computer and our Cad Cam milling station carves it out. You can relax for approximately 20 minutes until it is finished milling and ready to install. In the case of a porcelain bonded to metal, or full metal crown, a temporary crown is fitted over the tooth until the permanent crown is back from a lab where it is fabricated.