NEW BRAUNFELS, TX CROWNS PREVENT FURTHER DAMAGE TO YOUR TEETH
Also known as caps, dental crowns help to preserve the functionality of your damaged teeth. Today, there are a variety of treatment options to restore your teeth. One commonly used dental option is crowns. The main purpose of dental crowns is to enclose a needy tooth with a custom-designed material. It is best to discuss your restorative options with your dentist, to find out if crowns are the best choice for reconstructing and protecting your damaged teeth.
What are Dental Crowns?
Dental crowns are a type of restoration that can help to protect your teeth that have become damaged, broken, or cracked. In other words, a crown is used to preserve and strengthen your existing damaged tooth, rather than to replace it as a whole.
Your teeth may require a crown if the structure is too weak to support a filling. Crowns can also be used to strengthen your teeth after various dental treatments such as root canals or used in place of bonding to building the strength of your fractured tooth.
Crowns can be made from a variety and combination of various materials. Some materials, though, are more aesthetically pleasing for your teeth than others. Made with a combination of metal and porcelain crowns may exhibit dark gum lines over time, making them highly visible to others as well as yourself.
Gold crowns are recommended for those who have a strong bite, or for crowns located in the back of the mouth that are not visible. Ceramic crowns are by far the most aesthetically pleasing and popular option for restoring your damaged teeth with dental crowns. Light is allowed to be transmitted, making ceramic crowns more life-like.
All-Ceramic or All Porcelain Crowns
Translucent porcelain with opalescence closely resembles natural teeth enamel, will not wear down opposing teeth, and there are no telltale dark metal margins at the gum line as sometimes occurs with porcelain fused to metal crowns. All-porcelain or ceramic crowns are strong, long-lasting, and youthful in appearance.
This is the predominant material choice for crowns, providing a metal-free esthetic option with a host of benefits. By eliminating the need for a supportive metal core, an esthetic all-ceramic or porcelain crown can be created with a reduced thickness in material, which makes for a more favorable treatment. In addition, the elimination of the metal core allows for light to transmit through the porcelain for better optical, life-like properties and a higher level of esthetics.
Aftercare and Recovery
After your crown has been placed, your New Braunfels dentist will provide you with information about caring for your new restoration. With proper care, a good quality crown can last up to eight years or longer. It is vital to floss in the area of the crown to avoid excess plaque or collection of debris around the restoration. Certain behaviors such as jaw clenching or bruxism can significantly shorten the life of your crown. Even more so, eating brittle foods, ice or hard candy can also compromise the durability of the crown, or even damage the crown itself.