A dental crown is a natural looking “cap” covering over your missing tooth, restoring it to its original shape, size, and strength, protecting it from further damage.
Three main situations cause a tooth to require crowning.
Dental bridges are like three or more dental crowns joined together, but to replace one to two missing natural teeth by gaining support from the adjacent teeth. The natural teeth at the side of the missing area are trimmed, and the bridge is cemented permanently to replace the missing teeth.
Using a bridge to replace missing teeth is more comfortable than a denture and is cheaper than dental implants. However, it requires trimming of the healthy adjacent natural teeth, compromising its original structure.
In most cases, crowning or bridging requires only two visits to complete the treatment. For your tooth preparation for the tooth crown or bridge on the first visit, your dentist will first remove any decay, followed by trimming and reshaping your tooth to make space for the crown to be capped.
Once the trimming is done, an impression will be taken and sent to the dental laboratory to fabricate the crown, which usually takes 1-2 weeks to be ready.
Meanwhile, a temporary crown will be placed around your tooth to protect it from damage until the next appointment. During your next visit, the temporary crowns made will be removed, and the actual crown will be cemented over your tooth permanently.
Types of dental crowns material
Each material comes with its pros and cons. The decision on which material to use for your dental crown depends on many factors. (the tooth to be crowned, any allergy to metal as some of the dental crowns are metal based, front teeth or back teeth, aesthetic requirement, cost) Our dentist at Ocean Dental would be more than happy to share the recommended material for your case.
A dental crown is usually required after root canal treatment or for badly broken down or fractured tooth.
In most cases, a regular restoration using filling material is insufficient to protect the tooth from all the forces when chewing; thus, a dental crown is required to restore and protect the tooth from further damages.
In most cases, crowning/ bridging only requires two visits to complete after the consultation is done. The first visit will be the tooth preparation visit, which involves tooth trimming and taking the impression.
The second visit will be after the crown/ bridge is fabricated from the dental laboratory and the crown is ready to be cemented permanently onto your teeth.
Medisave can only be used for surgical procedures. Since dental crown and bridge are not considered surgery, Medisave cannot be used.
A dental crown / bridge does not require much special care. However, like all other teeth, you must maintain good oral hygiene habits to prevent decay or gum diseases for long lasting result.
The price for dental crown is from $800, depending on the tooth and material of the crown.
Note: Government Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies.
Different material comes with its pros and cons. The decision on which material to use depends on factors like:
Our dentist at Ocean Dental would be more than happy to share the recommended material for your case.
Don’t hesitate to contact us!
