When is a crown necessary?

The necessity of placing a crown is quite varied. If a tooth is broken and there is inadequate tooth structure to place or bond a filling to it then the rest of the tooth may have to be miniaturized to crown it. It is only miniaturized as much as necessary to build back the tooth to it's original size. The break could be due to trauma, broken filling, or decay. If a tooth has required root canal treatment it may need to have a foundation and a crown in order to keep it strong. This is because most of the nutrients a tooth receives through the "root canal " can no longer keep the tooth viable and coverage is a necessity. On occasion the dentist may chose to crown a perfectly healthy tooth strictly to support the cosmetic desires of the patient. Another reason teeth may be crowned is when they have to be connected to one another for the purpose of splinting them together due to mobility or looseness in the periodontally compromised patient. Crowns also are used to support artificial teeth as anchors for dental bridges.

What are dental crowns?

Dental crowns and caps are words that are interchangeable. They define a TOTAL covering of the part of the tooth that is visible from the gum-line. It is a covering that is often made from different material. In a child's tooth it is usually made of stainless steel or polycarbonate (tooth color). These types of crowns typically do not have to last many years and can strengthen the underlying tooth structure as well as maintain space. Crowns for permanent teeth historically were made of metal (usually dental gold) and if they needed to be white, plastic or porcelain would be attached to the metal. The evolution of porcelain is such that all porcelain crowns are often the treatment of choice for crowns.