The dental crown procedure takes one visit to our office. During your appointment, our dentist in Shelby Township, MI, will file down your tooth and take digital dental impressions to send to our in-house milling machine. After that, he’ll fit your tooth with a permanent dental crown to restore your tooth to its original strength and appearance.
Here’s a more in-depth explanation of the dental crown procedure.
What is a Dental Crown?
A dental crown restores a fragile tooth to its original strength and appearance. Our dentist may recommend a dental crown if your tooth has a large crack, cavity, or filling that has compromised its structural integrity. A crown acts like a “tooth cap” because it fits over your entire tooth, from the chewing surface to the gum line.
Dr. Nazarian will file down your tooth so your fits over it.
Reasons Why You May Need a Dental Crown:
- Strengthen a cracked, fragile tooth
- Strengthen a tooth with a large filling
- Restore a tooth after significant decay
- Anchor a dental bridge in place
- Restore a tooth after a root canal
- Cover a titanium dental implant
Emergency Dental Care
Don’t ignore a toothache! Pain is your body’s way of letting you know something is wrong. For example, a cavity or crack in your tooth could be the source of your dental pain.
While over-the-counter pain relievers provide temporary respite from the pain, you’ll need to schedule an appointment with our office for a long-term solution. The only way to make your toothache disappear for good is to treat the root of the problem.
Learn More: What to Do During a Dental Emergency →
Diagnosis
During your appointment, Dr. Nazarian will examine your teeth and gums. He’ll also take X-rays to see if there are any problems lurking beneath the surface. Once he diagnoses the problem, he’ll recommend an appropriate course of treatment.
Keep in mind that not all problems are fixed with dental crown treatment. For example, you may only need a filling to treat a tooth with a small cavity. Likewise, a deeply infected tooth will need root canal therapy. Dr. Nazarian has years of experience treating patients of all ages and will be able to determine the best solution to restore your oral health.
Tooth Prep
Once Dr. Nazarian determines that a dental crown is the best solution, he’ll prepare your tooth for the procedure. First, he’ll need to file down your tooth so the dental crown will fit over top.
Dr. Nazarian may recommend a zirconia dental crown. Zirconia is an extremely durable material, which means we can make the crown thinner. This means that we don’t have to remove as much tooth structure to place your new crown. Zirconia also looks translucent so it blends in with the rest of your smile.
Digital Dental Impressions
Unlike other offices, we have an intraoral camera to take detailed 3D images inside your mouth. This means that we won’t have you bite down on a tray filled with pink impression putty to take impressions of your teeth. Our intraoral camera is about the same size as a toothbrush and won’t trigger your gag reflex. The comfort of our patients is always one of our top priorities.
Once we’ve taken dental impressions, Dr. Nazarian will start to design your new dental crown right in front of your eyes using our CAD/CAM technology. CAD/CAM stands for computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture.
Once your dental crown is designed, he’ll send it to the milling machine in our office. The milling machine will then carve and sculpt your new dental crown from a ceramic block. We have different shades of ceramic to best match the rest of your teeth.
Permanent Dental Crown
Before cementing the same-day dental crown to your tooth, Dr. Nazarian will make sure it’s the correct size, color, and shape. The dental crown needs to not only fit over your tooth but blend in with the rest of your smile so it looks natural. Once Dr. Nazarian is pleased with how your dental crown looks and fits, he’ll bond it to your tooth.
Aftercare
Take care of your dental crown like you do the rest of your smile. This means brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing once daily to remove dental plaque. Our dentist may also recommend you swish with fluoride mouth rinse to give your smile that added bit of protection.
In general, the is between 10 and 15 years. However, several factors can affect the longevity of your new restoration. For example, your dental crown may not last as long if you grind your teeth at night, smoke, chew ice, or neglect oral hygiene. The better you take care of your smile, the longer your dental crown is likely to last.
Book a Dental Crown Consultation
Dr. Ara Nazarian will be more than happy to answer any questions you have about the dental crown procedure. As a dental practice, we always want to make sure our patients feel comfortable and informed about each procedure they undergo. To request an appointment with our dentist in Shelby Township, MI, call the Premier Dental Center at (248) 457-0500. You may also fill out our online contact form and someone from our team will reach out to you soon.
This blog post has been updated.