It is no secret that dentists are committed to saving teeth. Our treatment of choice, is to restore a tooth rather than remove it.
In some situations, tooth decay is significant or the tooth has broken, and loss of tooth structure extends to the base of the crown of the tooth (where tooth meet gums). In this situation, restoration is often impossible. A procedure called "crown lengthening" offers a solution. Crown lengthening is a simple surgical procedure, which does not actually lengthen the crown, but rather, it lowers the gum line. With more tooth structure exposed, the dentist has a base on which to affix a crown.