Crowns

Crowns are a tooth shaped "cap" (usually made of porcelain or gold) that is cemented over the natural tooth. Usually, the tooth will only require a crown is there is a crack or a large fracture/break that a filling will not fix. Crowns normally require two separate office visits, about 2-3 weeks apart. At the first visit the tooth will be prepared for a crown with a drill, and several impressions will be taken to be sent off to the lab. The lab will take a few weeks to fabricate the porcelain or gold crown. The patient will leave with a temporary crown for the time being, which is usually a plastic resin so they will have to be careful with what they eat since it is only temporary. The second visit is usually very quick. The patient will return, the temporary crown is removed and the new crown is fitted, adjusted, and cemented with permanent cement. The crown will match your adjacent tooth shade (unless gold) and look very natural. It will look and feel just like a normal tooth.