Tooth Crowns

Modesto, Manteca, Ceres, Turlock, Salida, Ripon, California Dentist

How Dental Crowns Are Made

Dental crowns, also called tooth crowns, are protective caps that are fitted over broken or damaged teeth. They function like your natural teeth while protecting the root. Tooth crowns are fabricated from dental molds and then cemented to the tooth. At Sierra Dental Care, we have the option of creating your dental crowns in-house through the use of CEREC technology.

Tooth Preparation

Although there are several different types of dental crowns, they are all made in a similar way. First, one of our experienced dentists will make sure that the remaining portion of your tooth is healthy enough to support a dental crown. If it is not, a dental implant may be required.

If the tooth can support a dental crown, it is then reshaped, removing 2-3 millimeters of the sides and end to make room for the crown to fit over it. An impression is then taken of the tooth and surrounding teeth, which is used to make a plaster mold. If the tooth crown is going to be fabricated in-house, digital images are taken of your tooth.

In instances when the tooth crown will be created in a lab, the mold is sent to the lab and you are given a temporary dental crown of composite material to wear until your permanent crown arrives. The temporary crown will be fairly resilient and can be used to chew and eat food. It will be affixed with a temporary adhesive, so you should avoid chewing gum, taffy, or other similarly sticky foods until you receive your permanent tooth crown.

Dental Crown Fabrication

If your teeth crown is made in our office, the CEREC system sculpts the dental crown out of a piece of porcelain to exactly fit the prepared tooth. Because the dental crown is created on-site from digital images, your permanent crown can be applied the same day, rather than having to wait until the tooth crown is constructed by an outside lab and sent to our office.

Once your dental crown is created, it is fitted on your tooth, cemented, and polished down to align with the opposing teeth so you will not experience discomfort in chewing. Porcelain crowns are more durable than composite crowns and more aesthetically pleasing than metal crowns.

If you are in the Modesto, Turlock, Salida, Ceres, Ripon or Manteca, California areas and would like to learn more about dental crowns, please contact the experienced Modesto family dentists at Sierra Dental Care today to schedule your appointment.