Dental Crowns; what they are and why we need them. By a London SE1 dentist

Dental Crowns; what they are and why we need them. By a London SE1 dentist

05 / 09 / 2010

A Dental Crown is also known as a cap, it is either made from a blank square of porcelain or by mixing up a powder blend and laying it on in stages, says a London SE1 dentist. A root canal is a common use for a dental crown, after the work is done the dentist will need to seal the hole that is created during the operation. Sometimes the dentist will have a cap/crown made beforehand, and sometimes they will simply mix up a small amount, and trowel it on layer by layer. Each layer is spread on and then sterilised and hardened using an intense light source. If the crown is pre-made it will be hollow to allow the dentist to cement it on over the top of the tooth, the tooth needs to be ground down first to the same dimensions as the hollow inside. A Bridge is a form of dental crown, the two teeth on the end of the bridge are hollowed out so they can fit onto the two teeth either side of the gap being filled in. They are an alternative to dentures which some patients don’t get on with. They aren’t the same as a veneer which is just a covering for the front of a tooth; a crown is literally that, a topping to a tooth. A chipped tooth will often be ground down to get rid of the damaged area; it is then topped off with a crown. This is then polished to hide the join; a crown is cleaned the same way as your teeth.