A dental crown completely covers the anatomic crown of an individual tooth to restore the tooth to its original contour and function.

Dental crowns are either all ceramic, porcelain fused to metal (noble metal-gold), or full gold.

A ceramic crown on a posterior tooth can be done in a single session. The CEREC camera is used to take the optical impression and then a crown is designed from that impression to replace the missing tooth structure. Once the design is done, the dentist will choose the ceramic shade that matches the natural tooth shade.

CEREC milled porcelain is of similar hardness to our natural tooth enamel. After the crown is milled is it bonded onto the tooth and polished to a smooth finish. Dental crowns that are all porcelain for the anterior teeth, porcelain fused to metal and gold crowns, are done in two visits. The first visit is the preparation and impression of the tooth, then the impression is sent to the dental lab. The second visit is when the crown is bonded to the tooth.

In some cases when the tooth has been treated for a root canal, a post is placed into the pulp canal. The post is cemented into the canal. The post provides strength and stability to the dental crown and the core build-up is placed to support the crown.

A dental crown completely covers the anatomic crown of a tooth to restore its original contour and function.