 A crown (some people call it a "cap") is used to restore a tooth that would otherwise be in danger of breaking. A cap is a dental restoration that covers and protects your entire tooth. It used to be that any crown had to have some metal in it for strength. Nowadays, we can make them out of all porcelain, meaning that they can look very esthetic and very natural. Alas, most dental schools accentuate the use of porcelain fused to metal crowns, and that's the only crown many dentists know how to do for front teeth. However porcelain fused to metal crowns for front teeth look not clear, unnatural, and have a tendency to develop a dark contour at the gumline after some years.
Dental Crown Choices for Front Teeth A dental crown on a front tooth is needed when a good portion of the tooth is moved out or a good portion of the biting edge is left - there are large old fillings, a tooth fracture or large portions of decompose. A filling is used to fill a small portion of the tooth - a crown when the tooth has extensive damage. There are three basic categories of crowns for front teeth: bonded all porcelain, extra strength all porcelain or porcelain fused to metal. 1) Bonded all porcelain - this type of crown a genuine cosmetic dentist will almost always place on a front tooth. It is made completely of porcelain or other ceramic material. Currently the type of porcelain used for teeth crowns is not very strong. The way a cosmetic dentist will cope with it is to bond the crown to the tooth, therefore giving it plenty of strength to function. Nevertheless, since dental schools do not normally train dentists in the bonding techniques required to place these crowns, you should be careful to only have them done by expert cosmetic dentists. This type of crown has the best look, as it imitates the appearance of nature to the degree when it is difficult to define that it is not a natural tooth. An all porcelain crown costs more than porcelain fused to metal crown. And whereas an all porcelain crown is strong enough for front teeth, it may not be strong enough for some back teeth in a number of patients with an extra strong bite. 2) Extra strength all porcelain - contain some new ceramic materials that have so much additional strength, that they don't have to be bonded. Some dentists like to place these crowns on front teeth because they don't need specialized training to place and they don't have the aesthetic drawbacks of metal, though, they aren't as aesthetic as the bonded all porcelain crowns. There are some brand names of crowns related to this type: Procera crowns, InCeram crowns, Cercon Zirconia crowns, Lava crowns and Cerec crowns. Whereas they don't have a faded metal core, most of them have a lusterless white core, so they aren't as aesthetic for front teeth. They don't tend to develop the dark black line at the gumline that porcelain fused to metal crowns do, but they can still expose a sharp color difference where the crown meets the tooth. They also have a tendency to be a little coarser on the opposing teeth that chew against them. 3) Porcelain fused to metal crowns for general dentists who aren't ardent about appearance look "good enough." But even dilettante can tell when a person has this type of crown on front teeth. They are inclined to have a very fake-looking dullness, and they will be liable to get a black line at the gumline after a few years. This line may not be visible when the crown is first placed but reveals later, as the gum begin to recede. But porcelain fused to metal is considerably stronger than the all porcelain crown. The biggest benefit for general dentists is that this crown is much easier to put. An experienced general dentist with only the training received in dental school can properly place one of these crowns.
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