Must a tooth damaged by decay, infection or oral injury be extracted? Maybe it does. However, thousands of teeth receive dental crowns to restore them to full strength and appearance.
Drs. Bagley, Goodwin and Hrinda and their associate dentists offer innovative CEREC same-day crowns to refinish marred smiles. Learn the pros and cons of traditional crowns and CEREC restorations.
What is a Crown?
A dental crown is a restoration which covers a damaged tooth from top to bottom. Sometimes a tooth is so decayed it cannot be filled, or a tooth may be broken in an accident or fall and lose a lot of its enamel.
Whatever the cause, your Greenfield dentist endeavors to preserve as much natural tooth structure as possible, rather than extracting the tooth. Tooth loss has very unfortunate consequences such as:
- A smile gap
- Weakening and drifting of adjacent teeth
- Impaired speech, chewing and biting
- Gum and bone recession
- Prematurely aged appearance
After examining the tooth and the patient’s oral health, the dentist may recommend a CEREC same-day crown.
Pros and Cons of Traditional Crowns
The traditional crown is made of metal alloy, gold or porcelain fused to metal. The dentist and patient choose the material based on where the dentist will place the crown, cost and convenience.
For instance, a traditional crown takes more than one dental visit. Digital X-rays and oral impressions help the doctor formulate the patient care plan to send to an outside dental lab where the restoration is fabricated.
The dentist removes the damaged enamel and filling and installs a temporary crown. At the next visit, he bonds the restoration in place and adjusts the fit and bite.
While a traditional dental crown supports good smile aesthetics and oral function, it may not look totally realistic, especially if it’s gold. Also, a porcelain fused to metal crown shows a dark line just above the gums, a cosmetic defect that becomes more obvious over time as gums tend to recede.
Pros and Cons of CEREC crowns
CEREC stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramic. The CEREC crown is an all-porcelain dental crown fabricated right in the dentist’s treatment room. The dentists at Bagley, Goodwin and Hrinda like CEREC crowns for applications right in the front of the mouth. They function well on back molars, too, where crushing forces are very intense.
Qualified patients enjoy getting their CEREC crowns manufactured and placed in one dental visit. The doctor uses CAD-CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) software to make a digital impression of the patient’s mouth and crown. There’s no temporary crown. The CEREC milling machine translates the dentist’s information into a color-matched, perfectly-shaped crown.
Milling takes only 15 to 20 minutes. The dentist polishes the crown, adjusts the color, and bonds it over the prepared tooth. The bite is perfect right out of the milling machine.
Needing a Crown?
If you have a failing or broken tooth, let your Greenfield dentist help you decide if a traditional or CEREC crown is what you need for your smile. For a personal consultation, contact Bagley, Hrinda and Goodwin.