Do I Need a Dental Crown? 6 Situations When a Crown Might Be the Best Option for You
In dentistry, our goal is always to help our patients preserve the beauty and function of their natural teeth for as long as possible. In many cases, the best option for helping a patient avoid tooth extraction is a dental crown.
What Is a Dental Crown?
A dental crown is a tooth-shaped cap that is custom-designed to fit securely over a patient’s tooth. Depending on its use and placement a crown can be made from metal, gold, zirconia, ceramic, or porcelain-fused metal.
6 Common Reasons Why You Might Need a Dental Crown
1. Protect a Weak Tooth
If a tooth has been weakened by decay or a large amalgam filling, it’s at risk of breaking and decaying below the gum line. Often, the best protection for a weak tooth is a dental crown because it fully covers and caps the tooth, holding it securely together and preventing it from having to be extracted later.
2. Restore a Tooth
When a tooth is severely cracked, broken, has a broken cusp, or has experienced significant dental wear, a dental crown can restore the tooth’s original shape and function.
3. Improve Aesthetics
Whether a patient has a discolored or misshapen tooth, a dental crown is often a good option for improving its color, shape, and overall appearance. While dental veneers or dental bonding are also options for improving the appearance of one or more teeth, dental crowns also provide extra structural support.
4. Root Canal
After having a root canal, a dental crown is often necessary to restore and protect the upper portion of the affected tooth.
5. Attach a Bridge
Depending on the type of dental bridge a patient is receiving, the appliance will sometimes be attached to neighboring anchor teeth using dental crowns.
6. Dental Implant
When a patient receives a dental implant, the metal, root-like anchor will be capped with a dental crown.
Ask Our Dentist in La Mesa About Dental Crowns
If you’ve been told you need a dental crown, we always welcome you to schedule an appointment with our dentist Dr. Paul Michels. At Cardinal Dental, we’re fully committed to providing our patients with the best service and treatments possible. So, we want to make sure that you’re comfortable with any procedure at-hand or treatment that we recommend. We’ll be happy to explain the reasons why our dentist has recommended a dental crown as the best treatment option for you and to discuss the pros and cons of any other possible treatment pathways.
To learn more or schedule an appointment, contact Cardinal Dental today.
