How a Dental Crown is Placed. Courtesy of the Canadian Dental Association.
If your tooth is damaged but not lost, a dental crown can be used to restore its shape, appearance and function. You may need a dental crown if you have a root canal, a large filling in a tooth or a broken tooth.
A crown, also called a cap, is a hollow, artificial tooth used to cover a damaged or decayed tooth. The crown restores the tooth and protects it from further damage. Crowns can also be used to cover a discoloured or misshapen tooth. A tooth that has been fixed with a dental crown looks and works very much like a natural tooth.
To make a crown, typically your damaged tooth is filed down and a synthetic tooth molded to look like your undamaged natural tooth is fixed in place over it. Usually this is done over the course of two visits; at your first visit, a mold is made of your tooth and it is filed down and then a temporary crown is placed, and on your second visit the permanent, natural-looking crown is put on and cemented into place.
At Memorial Avenue Dentistry we offer standard composite crowns as well as porcelain crowns.