Dental crowns are like perfectly pressed and starched jackets that slip over sometimes weak, decayed, cracked, infected, and repeatedly filled teeth. (That is, if that jacket was strong enough to support the body it covers.)
Dental crowns in North Naples can restore the function of a weak or damaged tooth while saving it from an avoidable extraction. Crowns provide permanent protection for teeth rescued from serious infection through a successful root canal procedure and can even support implant options like bridges.
What are dental crowns in North Naples made of?
Crowns are custom-designed and crafted using porcelain fused to a metal alloy or zirconia. PFM (porcelain fused to metal) crowns are a widely used, economical, and traditional option. In contrast, zirconium crowns are a more recent innovation made from a silicate capable of being bonded or cemented, which does offer some advantages. Zirconia crowns are more resistant to staining, chipping, and staining than PMF. They’re also even more translucent than porcelain crowns to resemble the appearance and feel of your natural teeth.
Patients considering crowns on highly visible front teeth may elect zirconia for aesthetic purposes. Patients considering crowns for molars may opt for the PFM crowns best able to withstand the highest chewing pressures exerted there.
Getting dental crowns in North Naples
To determine if dental crowns are a good option for your needs, our dentist in North Naples will assess your teeth and take images to understand what is happening inside and around the teeth in question. This information will be used to develop a treatment plan that includes steps necessary to address tooth decay or infection before a crown is developed. Once the decision has been made to proceed with a crown, the two-step process takes place over two appointments.
During your first appointment at a dentist in North Naples, your dentist will numb the affected tooth and area so you’ll be as comfortable as possible, then remove any decayed and extra material while shaping the sound and healthy material to provide a mount for your new crown. If the original investigations revealed that your tooth lacks the structure to support a crown, your dentist would tell you about implant options that can permanently support a crown.
Once the tooth has been shaped to accommodate a new crown to provide support and structure without obtrusive bulk, your dentist will take impressions of your teeth. Those impressions will be used to make molds to prepare your crown in a laboratory offsite. While waiting a week or so for the crown to be prepared and returned to your dentist, you’ll wear a temporary crown to eat and speak normally in the interim.
At your second appointment, your dentist in North Naples will place the new crown onto your tooth to ensure it fits properly and will provide the intended support. If necessary, your dentist will make those adjustments before fitting the crown to your tooth with a specialized dental adhesive.
If you’re living with a decayed, cracked, or infected tooth — or one that has received multiple fillings or undergone root canal therapy — crowns are an ideal solution that can strengthen and preserve that tooth while presenting an ideal appearance to the outside world. The first step to discovering if you’re a good candidate for dental crowns in North Naples is simple and quick. Contact a dentist near you and tell them what dental challenge you want to solve.