Porcelain fused to metal (PFM) Dental Crowns:

These are the most common dental crowns. They are very strong and can be match to the color of the other teeth.

Zirconia (all porcelain) Dental Crowns:

These are the strongest crowns with least amount of chance to fracture. They are very strong and as a result the can be made thinner than PFM. They also provide great esthetics that can be used for both back and front teeth. How ever the cost is more compare to PFM.

Temporarily Dental Crowns:

In general they are made while the permanent crown is being fabricated in the lab. They are made of acrylic and are very week and fracture easily.

Stainless Steel Dental Crowns:

These are prefabricated crowns that are mostly used on kids. They fit are not great and is not recommended for long term use. Mostly they are made on baby teeth and some permanent teeth while they are still not fully erupted. Later on, they will be replaced to permanent crowns like PFM.

Metal crowns:

They are made from metals such as gold or cast silver. These are the strongest crowns however due to the color of gold and silver are not being made much. They are mostly made for the back teeth where the esthetic is not as concern.

• A previously filled tooth has more filling than tooth. When a filling occupies more than say 50% of a tooth the existing tooth structure becomes weakened and may no longer support the filling.
• Your tooth has become discolored resulting in unwanted esthetics.
• Teeth are fractured. Sometimes these fractures are visible, other times they may only be diagnosed when there are complaints of pain during chewing.
• After your tooth has had Endodontic therapy (root canal)- Teeth tend to become brittle after root canal and may be more apt to fracture. By placing a crown we tend to protect your tooth from fracture.
• Replacement of missing teeth requires crowning adjacent teeth in order to support the missing teeth.
• Replacement of existing dental crowns or bridges.

We want to assure you that your dental visit will be totally comfortable. We begin by giving you a local anesthetic. Depending upon the type of local anesthetic we use, you can expect to be numb for one to four hours. If your anesthesia should last longer, do not be concerned. Not everyone reacts to medication in the same manner. One word of caution: While you are numb, please be careful not to bite your lip or tongue. A soft diet or no meal at all while you are numb is probably a good idea. If your child has been the patient, please watch them carefully to be sure they do not play with their tongue or lip while it is numb.

Once your teeth are totally numb, we will prepare your tooth in a very specific way. After your tooth is fully prepared, we proceeded with the impression stage. We used a thin of specially fabricated cord which we will place around your tooth in order to get the impression material under the gum where the crown ends. Please rest assured that this small piece of cord will be removed prior to the end of today’s visit.

Once the impression stage was completed, we will place a temporary (transitional) crown on your tooth. These plastic (acrylic) restorations are placed on teeth to protect them and the gum tissues between dental visits. The temporary cementing medium used is designed to allow me, to easily remove them at your next scheduled visit.

Learn More About Root Canal Treatment
Should you experience any discomfort you can take a mild analgesic (Tylenol, Advil, Anacin, ect) as long as there is no medical contraindication based upon your medical history. Typically, you can take anything you would normally take for a headache. If the discomfort persist, please call your dentist office.