What can dental crowns do for you? How are they installed? Can you eat, drink, and speak normally with a dental crown? Do they look natural?

These are some of the most common questions regarding dental crowns in Houston. And best of all: we have the answers to them!

Dental crowns are protective coverings that are placed atop a tooth. They can be fashioned from one of a few different materials, balanced either for strength or appearance.

How Dental Crowns Help You

Dental crowns can actually serve several purposes in restoring your smile.

• Protect and strengthen a weak or broken tooth
• Improve the appearance of stained or damaged teeth
• Reduce gaps between teeth
• Cover up a previous dental implant
• Provide support for a dental bridge

As you can see, dental crowns can fulfill different roles depending on the need. Additionally, depending on where the crown is going and the purpose it is serving, it may be made from metal or porcelain and resin.

Porcelain and resin crowns look more natural but are not as durable as metal crowns. Metal crowns are often used for molars, where the greatest bite pressures are.

Preparing and Installing Dental Crowns in Houston

On your first visit to the dentist to get dental crowns, the dentist will prepare your teeth. This involves:

• Applying a local anesthetic to the tooth and surrounding tissue
• Filing the tooth down while preserving much of the core
• Cleaning all areas around the tooth thoroughly
• Creating a cast or mold of the tooth after filing in order to prepare a properly sized crown
• Place a temporary crown to protect the tooth until the permanent crown is finished

After this visit, you will go home and the dental lab will begin constructing your custom tailored dental crown.

It can take up to a few weeks to receive the finished crown, but once it’s ready, you’ll return to the dentist.

In some cases the prepared tooth may be too damaged from decay to support a crown effectively. If this happens, the dentist may add some fillings to bolster its strength and enlarge it enough to support the crown.

Once you return, the dentist will:

• Check to ensure the temporary crown held and there were no issues with it
• Remove the temporary crown
• Clean the host tooth and surrounding area
• Dry the tooth
• Apply a dental adhesive
• Place the permanent crown.

Your dental crown should fit perfectly on the first try, but if for any reason it does not, let the dentist know so a new one can be made. A poor fitting dental implant of any kind can lead to infection.

Once it’s installed and sits comfortably, your dental crown may last upwards of 15 years with proper care.