Porcelain offers a fine alternative to other tooth restoration materials. Made to perfectly match the shade and shape of your teeth, it’s durable, it’s strong, and it’s virtually undetectable.

Crowns are incredibly strong due to the fact that they are created by the finest materials. This protects and strengthens the remaining tooth structure. In the hands of a skilled dentist, and with the convenience of in-office milling machines, a crown will fit almost perfectly onto the prepared surface of the tooth, reducing the size of the seam between the crown and the tooth. This helps keep decay from eventually occurring under the crown.

Crowns should be placed before the tooth is so decayed or cracked to the extent that it may fracture. This can often help prevent the expense of root canal therapy in the future. It can also prevent the possibility that a fractured tooth may need to be removed, requiring the expense of a bridge or implant to replace the missing tooth.

Crowns are excellent restorations and have few disadvantages. They are highly durable, but they will eventually need to be re-cemented or replaced due to normal wear. Occasionally, a tooth may still need root canal therapy after being crowned. However, this indicates that the interior of the tooth was already sick (infected) and would have eventually needed root canal therapy anyway.

Sometimes impressions or molds are taken of the prepared surface. This mold is used to create a model of the tooth which is then sent to a special laboratory that will create a gold or ceramic (tooth colored) crown. The crown is then cemented onto the prepared surface of the tooth at a later date. In the event that a tooth is so decayed or fractured that it needs to be removed, the best alternatives are bridges or implants to replace the missing tooth.