Dental Crown
Crowns
A natural dental crown (your original tooth) is made of white enamel on the outside and yellow dentin supporting the enamel beneath it. An artificial dental crown sometimes called a “cap”, replaces missing or damaged natural tooth structure with tooth-colored materials like porcelain and/or metals such as gold.
Grinding your teeth, an improper bite, age, fillings and tooth decay can all be contributing factors in the wearing down, cracking or breakage of your teeth. Dental crowns cover the entire visible surface of your affected tooth and add strength, durability and tooth stability.
There are three basic types of dental
crowns:
Porcelain All porcelain crowns are the most aesthetic and are used primarily used for front teeth where the need for strength is not as critical.
Porcelain fused to metal (e.g. gold) For a very natural appearance, porcelain fused to metal crowns is the answer. However, they have a metal substructure and require an opaque below the porcelain. This can make the translucency of natural teeth difficult to replicate. Occasionally a darker line will be visible at the edge of the crown, near to your gum when it recedes with age.
Metal where a tooth colored dental crown is not a priority the gold dental crown is an excellent choice. Gold dental crowns are the most durable and offer the most precise fit. While it is possible to chip porcelain crowns, gold dental crowns provide no such possibility.