The five most common reasons you may require dental crowns in Waterloo include:

● To replace missing teeth by being attached to a Dental implant

● To protect a tooth that has undergone a root canal to eliminate serious infection

● To restore the structural integrity of a tooth weakened by cracks, cavities, large fillings or injury

● To anchor traditional dental bridges to replace missing teeth

● To cover and perfect the appearance and shape of badly discoloured or misshapen teeth

Crowns are designed and crafted not just to perform their required functional role, but also to sit naturally in your jaw without looking like an artificial dental restoration. Dental Crowns can be used anywhere in your mouth, including in prominent locations in your “smile” or “social” zone. In recommending and designing dental crowns for you, the staff at a dental office in Waterloo will keep cosmetic concerns in mind to make sure that your crowns match the colour, texture and shine of your healthy natural teeth.

Dental crowns are made from metal alloys, porcelain, ceramic materials and combinations of those materials. Each material (and combination of materials) offers different advantages and disadvantages, including varying levels of strength, durability and capacity to withstand high biting forces and pressures. Which material is right for you will depend on a careful assessment of your teeth and circumstances. Choosing the right material is based on two especially important criteria: where the crowns will be put in your mouth (front teeth vs molars, for example); and what the crowns need to accomplish (covering a discoloured tooth or anchoring a crown, or both, for example).

What is the process of getting dental crowns?

Treatment plans for providing dental crowns vary from person to person, but all include the following core elements. (As we’ll note below, the process is different for dental crowns that replace teeth using dental implants.)

● A dentist near you will remove a layer of enamel from the tooth to receive a crown, as well as remove any tooth decay and reshape the tooth if required to create a surface to bond to the crown.

● Once the tooth to receive the crown has been prepared, your dentist will take impressions of your teeth to guide the preparation of a crown to fit over your tooth perfectly. If you are receiving same-day crowns, digital images will be taken of your teeth to provide data to a computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system in the dentist’s office.

● The third step — actually preparing your crowns — happens in a couple of different ways. If you’re receiving traditional crowns, your impressions will be sent to a dental laboratory where technicians will create a dental crown to fit your tooth and play the role you require. If you are receiving same-day crowns, the data gleaned from the digital scans of your mouth will be sent to a computer and milling system in your dentist’s office. The CAD software in that system will design a crown for your dentist’s review. Once your dentist has confirmed that design, the CAM machine in your dentist’s office will mill your crown from a block of ceramic while you wait (usually in approximately one hour).

● When your dental crown is ready — in a couple of weeks for traditional crowns and in approximately an hour in the case of same-day crowns — your dentist will confirm the crown fits properly before permanently cementing the crown to your tooth with a specialized dental bonding cement.

Dentists recommend dental crowns near you for an enormous variety of dental needs — restorative and cosmetic. Whether your dental priorities relate to the appearance or shape of teeth, replacing missing teeth or protecting a damaged tooth, ask your dentist in Waterloo if dental crowns are an appropriate option for meeting your needs.

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