“A crown, if it hurts us, is not worth wearing.”
– Pearl Bailey, actress and singer
We are pretty sure Ms. Bailey wasn’t talking about dentistry when she made the statement above, but it can apply to dental crowns just as well.
Dental crowns have only gotten better. Once upon a time, you might have had to wait weeks to have your crown placed on your tooth.
Now you can get a dental crown in a single day.
At least, you can if you live in or near Birmingham, MI. If you do, you can visit the dentist at Newingham Dental Center and request a CEREC crown to repair your damaged, discolored, or decayed tooth.
What Is A Dental Crown?
Put simply, it is a replacement for the natural crown of your tooth.
You probably already know that your tooth is divided into two sections. The root is the part hidden by your gums. The crown is the part that is visible when you open your mouth.
While it would be wonderful if nothing bad ever happened to our teeth, that’s not reality.
The National Institutes of Health reported that 92 percent of American adults will have at least one cavity in their lives. Millions of people chip or break their teeth every year, and millions of teeth are lost every year for a number of reasons.
Any of the issues mentioned above are reasons you may need a dental crown.
Modern dental crowns are made of materials that mimic the appearance of natural teeth. They also are stronger and more durable, which means they can function as well as healthy teeth, too.
Why To Get A Dental Crown
The first step is to have something wrong with one of your teeth. In all honesty, if you can avoid this first step, you won’t need a dental crown.
You may have a cavity that you ignored a little too long. It may have grown too large for a filling to fix it, or it may have caused a tooth infection requiring a root canal treatment. In either case, a dental crown can get your tooth back in shape.
You may have injured your tooth. Maybe you were trying a little too hard to catch that fly ball in your recreational softball league and you collided with one of your teammates. Maybe the ball took a bad hop when you were trying to field it.
Either way, you hit your tooth and part of it broke off.
Even if the injury didn’t break your tooth, it may cause your tooth to change colors. This isn’t the type of discoloration that you can fix with whitening.
You may have lost one of your teeth. This could be the result of poor oral hygiene or an injury. In this situation, you may need a dental crown and a dental implant.
Implants are replacements for the roots of missing teeth. The exposed end is fitted with an abutment, where a dental crown can be placed.
How To Get A Dental Crown
If you come to Newingham Dental Center, the process can be completed in a single visit in many cases.
If your tooth has decayed, has broken, or has become discolored, the first step is reshaping the tooth. To do this, we remove enough of the tooth to leave only healthy portions. That is shaped into an abutment, which is where your CEREC crown will be bonded in place.
CEREC is an abbreviation for ceramic restoration. With this system, we have an in-office milling machine that allows us to shape a ceramic cube into the shape of a crown.
When it’s ready, we will bond it in place, and you are ready to go.
It’s not that simple in every dentist office, however.
At many places, you may have to wait weeks to get your dental crown. After shaping your tooth into an abutment, they will place a temporary crown instead.
They will order the permanent crown from a lab. In the meantime, you will hope that the temporary crown does not come loose, crack, or break before your real dental crown arrives.
We like our way better. It saves our patients’ time and does not require a second appointment.
Call Today
If you have a tooth that isn’t up to par for any reason, please contact our dentist office in Birmingham, MI. We would be happy to talk to you about our dental crowns to find out if they may be the solution for you.
Call 248-972-8720 or use our online form to make your appointment.
