A dental crown is a cover up procedure, it is a simple solution to a big problem says a Chelmsford dentist. The teeth can become damaged on an individual basis, but instead of extracting the tooth and replacing it with a false one, a dental crown will replace the damaged piece of the tooth. Let’s say the top of your tooth is damaged by acid decay and the fillings are no longer doing the job. Your dentist will first take some X-rays and then some digital photos, from these and the dentist will make up a crown that will fit over the top of the tooth. This crown (as in a crown a royal may wear) has an inner chamber built into it, so it will fit just a hat on the head. The dentist will numb the tooth and start work on the preparation, this involves grinding down the top of the tooth where the damage is prevalent. The shape the tooth will now take will be slightly smaller than the area of the inner chamber of the crown. The crown is fitted over the newly reshaped tooth, and cemented onto the mount to complete the procedure, the result is a new tooth that looks and feels like the original. Where a tooth has been extracted a bridge crown can replace the original without the use of a false tooth on a plate, a denture. In this case the gap and the teeth either side are photographed and a crown is made up of 3 teeth, the middle tooth replaces the extracted one and the teeth either side are used to anchor it in place. The teeth either side are ground down to take the anchor teeth, it is the same method as for a damaged tooth, these two teeth then form the `land side` of the bridge to keep it in place. Call 01245 268 494 for a free consultation at Advance Dental Clinic in Chelmsford.

When teeth are damaged either by decay or accident, the pain is caused by the exposure of the sensitive dental nerve located at the centre of the tooth. In a normal functioning tooth the nerve is protected by a layer of pulp and dentine and then finally covered with a layer of hard protective enamel. When a tooth suffers form decay this enamel is broken down exposing the softer central parts of the tooth and dental nerve to infection and extremes of hot and cold. This can lead to painful toothache and even tooth loss.

Holes in the enamel therefore need to be filled with a protective substance to replace the enamel. These are commonly known as fillings but in certain circumstances, a filling is not enough to protect the tooth from further damage and more extensive protection is needed. In this case dentists uses what is called a crown to offer a greater degree of protection to the tooth. A crown covers the whole of the tooth exposed above the gum and can be made form metal, porcelain or a combination of the two, although most patients today prefer porcelain because of the aesthetic qualities it offers.

Crowns are also used for teeth that have been cracked and damaged by injury to the face. Cracked or broken teeth can be very painful and if they cannot be repaired with dental bonding then they too will require a crown from a Billericay dentist to prevent further pain.

The crown is manufactured to closely resemble the shape pf the existing tooth before being cemented over the top to act as a protective barrier. It may be necessary to remove some existing enamel to allow the crown to fit comfortably over the top. A dental crown can last longer than fifteen years if properly cared for. Call 01245 268 494 for a free consultation at Advance Dental Clinic in Chelmsford.