A Simple but Complete Guide to Porcelain Crowns

“Now Andrew looks very happy, and he is chewing comfortably,” said one of his family members after the 52-year-old man received a dental crown treatment. Andrew had a missing tooth and dull teeth. He preferred to undergo porcelain crown treatment to gain confidence in smiling.

All he wanted was a long-lasting solution for his missing and dull teeth. If you have had dental crown treatment in the past, you should know how it feels after the treatment. The change in smile with greater confidence should have transformed you into a different personality.

Let’s know what’s inside a dental crown treatment. What are the various types of crowns and the procedures behind making a bigger smile on one’s face?

The Dental Crowns:

A dental crown is a duplicated tooth-like cap used to treat missing and damaged teeth or restore the original shape of teeth. Once these caps are placed, you cannot differentiate the duplicate from the original teeth. These crowns are made using materials like porcelain, ceramics, zirconia, stainless steel, gold crowns, and Emax.

The Need For Dental Crown:

If you’re worried about the appearance of your teeth, consider options to enhance your smile. One standard solution is a dental crown, but what comes next?

Your next step should involve discussing crown materials and associated costs. You may also need clarification about whether a dental crown, inlay, onlay, or simple filling is the best choice for your situation.

Clarifying these doubts typically occurs during your initial visit to the dentist. Here are some common reasons why a dental crown might be recommended:

• Severe cavities or tooth decay.
• Need for a more extensive filling.
• Misaligned teeth.
• Previous root canal treatment.
• Tooth damage.

Understanding these reasons can help you achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing smile.

Temporary Crowns:

Temporary crowns provide initial coverage before permanent crowns are placed. Depending on the amount of dental work required for the permanent crown, these crowns are placed for 2-3 weeks to analyze the patient’s comfort, overall functionality, and aesthetics.

The temporary crowns are made of stainless steel and acrylics, which serve as a short-term solution for diagnosing the teeth. They ensure comfort and some space for the neighboring teeth to prevent the misalignment of teeth during the placement of permanent crowns.

Permanent Crowns:

Permanent crowns are the next and final step in the process. They play a significant role in restoring the teeth to a normal state and making a beautiful appearance of the teeth. Everyone looks for a permanent solution for their problems; in that context, permanent crowns are well-suited for comfort and long-term solutions for damaged teeth. Permanent crowns are mostly porcelain because they give a natural colour and texture, like the original teeth.

When adequately fixed and handled, permanent crowns have a better life. They also provide excellent oral health, are easy to brush without trouble, and require fewer dental check-ups.

Choosing a Crown Material is Important:

Choosing a dental crown depends on various factors, such as the tooth’s location, patient preference, price, and aesthetics. Sometimes, the suitable choice depends upon the dental situation. Like, choosing gold crowns for molars gives more strength.

Types of Dental Crowns:

Various options are available for patients to choose the right crown material. Considering the temporary and permanent crown materials, both use different types to restore the patient’s teeth. 

A comprehensive study by a leading National Dental Practice Research Network has shed light on the diverse range of materials utilized in single-unit crowns and their respective attributes. This groundbreaking research has provided a spectrum of findings that significantly influence the material recommendations made by dentists for various purposes.

All-Zirconia Crowns:

Zirconia crowns, known for their high strength and toughness, are a professional choice. The popularity of high translucent zirconia and layered zirconia crowns among the people is a testament to their benefits.

Layered zirconia crowns, a fascinating innovation, are created by applying a porcelain layer over the core of zirconium dioxide. This unique process enhances the translucency and opalescence of zirconia, resulting in superior aesthetics. The flexural strength of layered zirconia, at 1200 MPa, surpasses traditional metal crowns, making it a compelling choice.

If you want to see more advantages of these zirconia crowns, here is the list:

• Excellent aesthetics.
• Lasts longer with lower chipping possibilities.
• Less time-consuming process to make zirconia crowns.
• Less wear due to higher strength.
• Zirconia crowns are a safe and reliable choice, do not cause allergies, and are highly biocompatible.

Gold Crowns:

Combining copper, gold, zinc, platinum, silver, and palladium gives us a highly durable gold crown. Gold crowns contain 25% to 60% precious metals. The gold crowns are solid and durable. In general, three types of alloys are used to fabricate gold crowns.

High noble alloys (precious): These alloys contain 60% of precious metals. They majorly include gold, platinum, and palladium.

Noble alloys (semi-precious): These alloys comprise 25% or more precious metals.

Non-noble alloys (non-precious): They are made of precious metals that are less than 25% precious.

What makes Gold crowns better?

Gold crowns show exceptional pressure during chewing activity, making them suitable for durability. Their significant strength reduces brittleness, ensures longevity, and minimizes the need for replacements. The gold crowns are highly used in trauma, injury, and severe tooth decay cases.

Create a Beautiful Smile Using Porcelain Dental Crowns:

Porcelain crowns are known for giving the most natural-looking result. They’re really good at blending in with your other teeth because they can perfectly match their shape, color, and size. Plus, porcelain is safe and has no toxic stuff, so it’s safe for your body. It also works well with your mouth and gums, making it an excellent choice for tooth repair.

Porcelain plays a major role in creating teeth that almost look identical to natural teeth. These porcelain crowns are approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and are highly safe to use. A porcelain crown can last up to 20 years. As we know, the usage of the back tooth for chewing any food is higher than the front tooth. So, crowns in the front tooth have a better life than those in the back.

Whether you need a crown for a front tooth or one further back, porcelain crowns are a top-notch option for making your smile look its best while keeping you healthy.

Porcelain Fused-to-Metal Dental Crowns:

Many researchers studied the porcelain-fused-to-metal extensively for various results. The results had given a 94% success rate for 10 years and good long-term reliability. To achieve a Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal restoration, it’s necessary to reduce the tooth adequately to make room for both the metal coping (0.3 mm) and the veneering porcelain (0.7 mm). For the facial aspect, a spacing of 1.2 mm is essential. This careful preparation ensures proper fit and durability of the restoration, allowing for seamless integration with the surrounding teeth.

The Porcelain-Fused-to-Metals are excellent at restoring the size and shape of the tooth up to reduction sizes at 1.5 mm. Porcelain-fused-to-metals comprise metal alloys and porcelains that provide more strength to the teeth while chewing.

When Porcelain-Fused-to-Metals are Recommended?

Porcelain-fused-to-metals are used to address the following problems.

• Frequent chipping of teeth.
• Cracks in the teeth.
• Wearing of teeth more frequently.
• Teeth decay.

Porcelain Fused to metal helps protect those teeth from further infections and restores them to their original shape.

E-max Lithium Disilicate Crowns:

Lithium disilicate is an incredibly strong and clear type of porcelain that hardly ever chips. It is known for its durability, long-lasting wear, and translucent quality, which gives it a natural appearance. It feels comfortable in the patient’s mouth and puts a beautiful smile on their face.

Lithium Disilicate is highly recommended for the anterior region of the teeth, which is more translucent than zirconia. While preparing the e-max crowns, the glass matrix of the disilicate is treated with hydrofluoric acid and bonded with a silane primer. This process adds extra strength and durability to the crown, ensuring it can withstand everyday wear and tear without any issues.

The Lithium Disilicate has more success rates in the anterior region of the teeth than in the posterior region. 

Factors to Choose the Right Material For Your Dental Crowns:

When it comes to choosing a dental crown, it should have more strength, durability, and less cost, and it should last for at least ten years from now. These are the expectations of every individual who undergo dental crown treatment. Let’s look at the factors in more detail.

Cost:

In today’s trends, people are ready to spend more on their physical appearance. In the same way, the cost to bring a beautiful smile to your face differs based on the choice of your dental crown. The ceramic crown gives you a natural appearance at a higher price, while other metal crowns and porcelain come at affordable prices.

Aesthetics:

The color of a dental crown plays a crucial role in deciding one’s smile. Materials like porcelain and ceramics give you the same color as natural teeth. Choosing the right crown that brings you a beautiful smile on your face is important.

Biocompatibility:

Biocompatibility refers to how compatible the dental crown is with your body. It’s crucial to ensure that after the crown is installed, you experience no pain, no allergic reactions, no bleeding, or other dental issues. If you have known allergies to certain metals, it’s wise to opt for ceramic or porcelain crowns after consulting with your dentist to avoid any adverse reactions.

Durability:

It is essential to choose a suitable material that lasts longer. If the location of your teeth is anterior, choosing a metal or gold crown is not recommended. On the other hand, porcelain and zirconia crowns provide high strength and a natural tooth-like appearance, making them the most preferred dental crowns among individuals.

The Dental Crown Procedures:

A perfect dental crown installation requires at least two dental visits. During the first dental visit, all the examinations about the teeth, issues, and preparation for the tooth to place the crown take place. If everything goes well, an impression of the tooth is taken to construct the crown, which will be done on the same day.

Your custom-made dental crown may be ready for placement during your second visit. The temporary crown, which was initially placed to protect your tooth, will be removed, and your permanent crown will be fitted. Once the permanent crown is in position, you’ll enjoy restored functionality and aesthetics, allowing you to showcase your beautiful smile confidently.

First-Day Dental Procedure in Detail:

During the first day, the following procedures will be followed:

• X-ray of the tooth and the jaw is taken to investigate if any decay is present.
• Examination will be made to find any other factors that may lead to infection after crown installation.
• Some patients may require a root canal before the crown installation, depending upon the severity of the issue.
• The teeth will be reshaped so that the crown can be placed.
• Metal-based crowns require lesser removal of tooth material. Whereas porcelain crowns may require the removal of more teeth material.
• Every side of the teeth is filed to bring down to the shape required to place the crown.
• During this step, tooth decay will be treated.
• If the tooth decay is severe, the tooth structure might be insufficient to place the crown.
• During this stage, a filling material is used to build the structure of the teeth.
• Once the tooth structure is created, the impression of the structured tooth will be taken when placing the crown.
• An impression of the opposite tooth is also taken so that the patient will bite anything without facing any issues.
• Impression plaster, elastomers, and green sticks are some of the materials used to take the tooth impression.
• Every detail of the tooth is recorded to make a perfect crown for the tooth.
• Finally, a temporary crown is placed on the teeth to protect the constructed teeth from getting damaged.
• During the next dental visit, the temporary crown is removed and replaced with a permanent crown.

Second-Day Permanent Crown Placement:

The following procedures will be carried out during the second visit:

Generally, it will take three weeks to create a perfectly shaped crown. Once the crown is ready, you will get a second appointment with your dentist.

• First, the temporary crown will be removed.
• Before fixing the permanent crown, the shape, size, and natural color of the teeth matching the permanent crown are checked thoroughly..
• Once everything is perfect, a local anesthetic is provided to numb the area of the teeth.
• Dental cement is used to fix the crown at the right place.
• Sometimes, a small adjustment may be required to bring the perfect shape of the crowns, if there is any problem with the patient’s bite.

In a Nutshell:

“Let your smile shine with the strength and beauty of dental crowns.”

As we have explored most of the areas of dental crowns, let’s remember the stories of transformation made by various individuals. From Andrew’s newfound confidence to the craftmanship behind each crown, these are more than just procedures – they’re the symbols of hope and renewal. Whether it’s the strength of zirconia or the natural beauty of porcelain, each crown represents a journey toward a brighter and healthier smile. So, embrace your own dental journey and the potential that every dentist offers to restore not just your teeth but also your confidence and happiness. Let your smile shine as a beacon of resilience and self-care.