The Ins and Outs of Dental Crowns
By Jill Feilmeier on March 29, 2012 in Dental Health
When you think of crowns, do you think of diamond filled headpieces, royalty, and riches like I do? The word “crown” has this magical aura to it. Dental crowns can be thought of the same way. They magically repair your broken tooth to a cosmetically and functionally sound tooth. Okay, maybe not magically, but close enough! The technology used these days to make crowns might as well be magic.
Crowns are constructed to fit over a tooth that's been broken by injury, undergone root canal therapy, or been so seriously weakened by cavities that it's in danger of falling apart.(1) They fit over the original tooth and are formed to fit perfectly in your mouth; like it was your own tooth!
CAD & CAM (computer-aided design & computer-aided manufacturing) are two technologies that dental laboratories have in order to create crowns with impeccable precision (I wonder how they did it before computers…). These day's it is very hard to tell a crown from a natural tooth.
So now you know a little bit about what crowns are and how they are made. Keeping them clean is also a VERY important thing to think about when you have a crown. Keeping a crown clean could extend the life of a crown beyond the expected lifetime of 5 to 8 years.
Below you will find 3 steps to take in order to maintain your new crown:
- Avoid chewing hard foods and ice that can break a porcelain crown. Crowns are made to withstand the pressure of chewing food, but avoid biting down on anything harder than carrots!
- Take steps to avoid grinding your teeth. Talk with your dentist if you know that you have this habit.
- Maintain good oral hygiene such as brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and seeing your dentist twice a year.
Thank you for attending Delta Dental of Iowa 101: Crowns. We hope you use our handy tips to keep your dental procedures healthy for years to come!
Resources: http://oralhealth.deltadental.com/Search/22,HD50