Understanding Porcelain Crowns

Before choosing the material for a replacement dental crown one needs to understand the role the crown plays in occlusal function. Most Denver dentists will make the appropriate recommendation to their patient based on the individual need, the kind of demands the crowns will have placed upon them, the amount of space available, and the amount of durability needed.

While there are three common materials employed in the manufacture of crowns, or "caps", the most frequently used is porcelain. One type of porcelain is pure porcelain or ceramic crowns; the other is porcelain merged with metal. The porcelain crown with a metal core - usually gold or another metal or alloy - provides a much stronger restoration. These types of crowns are a sensible choice in terms of aesthetics as they can be made to match the color of the original tooth quite easily.

The key to successful application of any kind of crown is the preparation of the tooth to which the crown will be attached. This is a potential trouble spot, as porcelain crowns fused with metal need a significantly larger space to be attached in a stable and secure manner. Denver dentists will do their best to retain as much of the natural tooth as possible.

Problems with the porcelain on metal crowns could also arise when a patient’s gum slowly recedes with age revealing some of the metal beneath the outer porcelain cover.

Crowns made exclusively of porcelain are nothing but ceramic materials like zirconia and other aluminous material. The fact that the all porcelain crowns do not have a core means that they are less bulky, and can fit into tighter spaces, but they are much less sturdy than their metal-core counterparts. Most patients prefer to have an all-porcelain tooth because they look almost real. Crowns that are applied for purely aesthetic purposes are usually the all-porcelain variety, wherever such an application is possible.

To have crowns applied a patient must make two visits to their Denver dentist. The first visit is needed to prepare the tooth for the crown and to place a temporary crown on to it.

Patients having partial dentures may require crowns fitted to the supporting teeth.

Because placement of crowns and conventional partial dentures means the grinding down of, in some cases, perfectly fine teeth, implant placement is the treatment modality of choice wherever possible.