If you have a chipped or broken tooth, don’t panic, it is not the end of the world and it is very possible that we can save the tooth and not have to pull it out thanks to the clever use of dental crowns Essex. Crowns are commonly used to cap off a tooth after root canal therapy but they can also be used to reshape and hide a chipped tooth or even hold together a broken tooth that has been cracked, at Crofts Dental Practice we want to preserve as much of your natural teeth as possible, because extracting a tooth could mean needing dental implant surgery whereas fixing a crown to your tooth can be done in 1 – 2 appointments.
What is a crown?
A crown is a cap or covering that is placed over a tooth in order to restore it. It can be made from metal (as often seen in those with gold teeth), porcelain fused stainless steel, resin or ceramic. It provides a necessary restoration where the tooth would otherwise have to be removed.
For cracked, broken or chipped teeth
Cracked teeth – if a tooth becomes damaged due to facial trauma and is cracked all the way down the centre, particularly but not limited to the case of this happening to a molar. Then it is possible to hold that tooth together with a dental crown, by capping the top of the tooth with the right crown, dentists are able to save the tooth.
Broken and chipped teeth – teeth with large chips or breaks in them can be restored with dental crowns Essex in order to still keep their function. Nowadays these restorative crowns are either made from tooth-coloured resin which is filed and shaped to form the shape of the tooth before being hardened with light or they are made of tooth coloured ceramic which is bonded to the tooth. Both make convincing and seamless coverups that are not noticeable when smiling.
After root canal
In order to perform a root canal properly, dentists need to file and drill away much of the top of the tooth in order to get inside and clear out the infection, a crown needs to be placed on top of the remainder of the tooth in order to reshape it and make biting and chewing possible once more. At first, you will receive a temporary crown that can be removed in order for the dentist to make sure the infection is completely gone before fitting you with a more permanent one.
A cover job
Old amalgam and metal fillings can be unsightly when you laugh and dental crowns Essex are able to cover them up easily in order to restore the proper colour of one’s teeth, this is a more cosmetic use of crowns but is very effective none the less. Crowns are also used to hold a bridge of teeth in place when someone has two or more missing teeth in a row, a crown is fitted to each side of the bridge of false teeth and each crown is fixed to the teeth on either side of the gap for a seamless fit.