What Happens When You Get A Dental Crown?

Do you have a tooth that needs a dental crown? This could be because the tooth is decaying in a way that will not support a filling, or because there is a lot of decay and a crown is necessary to save the tooth and prevent it from breaking further. Here is what will happen in this general dentistry procedure.

Decay Removal 

The first step is to get rid of all of the decay that is in the tooth. It's crucial that every bit of it is removed since you do not want decay hiding underneath a crown. There is a risk that the decay continues to eat away at the tooth, and you cannot easily remove a crown to see if that is happening. You'll often feel it when it reaches the point where it is quite painful.

Tooth Preparation

You may not realize that a capped tooth needs a significant portion of the tooth's structure to install a cap. This will involve permanently altering the tooth so that it is very small compared to what it once was. An impression will be taken of the prepared tooth so that the dental crown can be customized to the portion that is left.

Crown Fabrication

The impression that is taken will be used to design a crown. Not only is the impression of the prepared tooth taken, but of the surrounding healthy teeth as well. This allows a permanent crown to be made that fits the space that the tooth once filled. Some dentists send the impression out to a lab to make the crown offsite. However, some dentists have the equipment to make a crown at their own dental office. This allows you to get a same-day crown that you are happy with. If the crown is sent out to be fabricated, then a temporary crown will be put in your mouth.

Crown Installation

Your dentist will let you know when the crown will be ready and you can proceed with the installation. The crown will be secured to the tooth by using dental cement, which will ensure that it will not go anywhere The crown will essentially be a permanent part of the tooth. If the crown were to ever come off the tooth, you'd need to return to the dentist to fix it, because it would leave the natural tooth beneath it exposed without the protective layer of enamel.


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