When we refer to dental crowns as part of cosmetic dentistry, we are referring to artificial crowns made of different materials seeking to match the shape, size and colour of surrounding natural teeth as closely as possible.
We resort to this type of treatment when we have a very fragile tooth that requires reinforcement of this nature in order to avoid future fractures, such as root canal-treated teeth, or if we have broken teeth or teeth with very large restoration work covering more than 50 % of the surface of that tooth, or alterations in shape that disrupt dental harmony, ... among other cases.
It should be noted that dental crowns, by returning a compromised tooth (due to caries or discoloration) to its original state, will provide our patient with stability and confidence in relation to both mastication and aesthetics. In many cases this treatment does indeed restore lost self-esteem and general self-confidence.
-The first thing to do is to reduce, to file down the entire contour of the tooth to be treated.
-Once we have the appropriate thicknesses and margins of the natural tooth, silicone impressions are taken and sent to the dental laboratory, together with the choice of tooth colour. There, they will scan our impressions and manufacture our future crowns using CD-CAM technology.
-Once measurements have been taken from the patient, we place a provisional resin crown on the filed-down tooth, which will remain in place until the definitive crown is ready to be delivered to the patient.
-Once the definitive crown has been sent to us from the laboratory, we will proceed to cement it onto the filed tooth, adjusting the patient's bite to the new crown.
There are different types of crowns based on the material used:
They are only made of porcelain, which is why they provide the highest degree of aesthetics since they ensure a great combination of colours and can guarantee a highly cosmetic finish. Of course, they are more fragile than those of zirconium or ceramic metal and this is why we do not usually place them in posterior sectors. We mostly use them for restorations in anterior areas and when we require a high aesthetic component
Zirconium is an element that can only be obtained from the reaction and fusion of other minerals, as it is not a material found directly from nature. It is commonly used in dentistry as it provides substantial advantages over other materials. On an aesthetic level, and due to its transparency and white colour zirconium imitates natural teeth and also allows other materials to be adhered to it, such as porcelain, or it can be dyed, which ensures the high cosmetic level increasingly in demand among our patients at the Casanova 25 dental clinic.
Zirconium has been in use for about 20-25 years, with it becoming more widely used in dentistry during the last 10 years as it has very favourable long-term characteristics, it is totally biocompatible and nowadays it is one of the star materials on an aesthetic level.
These are crowns made of metal, but coated in porcelain. They look very natural and are stronger than those containing only metal. Their disadvantage is that the metal can become visible at gum level over time when the gum begins to react. For this reason, these crowns are a good option at posterior level.
Nowadays in our country these are rarely used as they do not meet the aesthetic requirements demanded by our patients. They can be gold, palladium, chromo-nickel or chrome cobalt. They are very durable but have poor aesthetic qualities.
On a cosmetic level, zirconium, since it contains no metal and is both very resistant and aesthetic. In relation to cost, a ceramic metal crown will always be cheaper.
Normally between 2 and 3 weeks
NO, as the entire treatment is carried out under local anaesthetic.