Crowns

• Caring for a dental crown includes brushing twice daily using a toothbrush to clean your teeth and crown thoroughly.
• Using a floss around the crown and between teeth is always recommended. Your dentist will show you how.
• Steer clear of hard or sticky foods that could damage or de-cement the crown.
• Visit your dentist regularly for professional cleanings and check-ups.

Imagine a tiny construction crew inside your mouth, complete with miniature hard hats and tool belts. They start by setting up scaffolding around the tooth that needs the crown, chatting about the latest dental gossip. The foreman, usually a wise old molar, directs the team to carefully measure the space. Then, they mix up a batch of tooth-coloured cement, making sure not to spill any on their tiny boots. As they place the dental crown, they high-five each other with their tiny hands, celebrating a job well done. Finally, they pack up their tools, leaving behind a perfectly crafted crown and a note saying: ‘Thanks for the gig! Keep flossing!’

The multi-step process for making crowns includes the following steps usually covered across multiple appointments:

Appointment 1 or more
A thorough exam of the gums of the severely damaged tooth that need to be restored with crowns, the structure, support and integrity of that tooth, and x-rays if necessary

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Discussion of the treatment plan to arrive at the material of choice for the crown

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Correction of gum health and structure of the supporting tooth if necessary

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Recording the shade of the tooth

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Shaping of the tooth to receive a crown

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Recording an impression of the shaped tooth and registering the bite

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Manufacture of the crown in our state-of-the-art lab partners’ facilities

Appointment 2 or beyond
Trying the crown in your mouth for fit, bite, comfort and aesthetics

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Making adjustments if necessary and polishing the crown. Sometimes this involves sending the crown back to the lab

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Cementing the crown in your mouth securely and permanently

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You are all set!

Time to flex your newfound chewing power! Remember to follow the post-operative instructions carefully to prolong the life of your crown.

• Crowns are generally a very successful treatment, but their success depends on good oral hygiene around them. Sometimes the teeth on which the crown rests on can develop decay or may need root canal treatment over a period of time.

Getting a dental crown is like giving your tooth a tiny, shiny hat that says, ‘I’m the king of chewing!’ Crucial for maintaining oral health and functionality after loss of tooth structure, it helps restore your smile, enabling you to chew and speak properly. Additionally, it helps maintain the shape of your face, providing support to the surrounding teeth and gums. Proper care of a dental crown ensures its longevity and contributes to overall dental hygiene. Begin your journey to get your teeth reinforced with crowns at Genix now!

Crowns are appliances that are definitively attached—‘fixed’—to the remaining tooth structure. This makes them ‘non-removable’ by anyone other than the dentist. Research indicates that fixed restorations deliver great improvement in the oral-health-related-quality-of-life.

Crowns are restorations that look like teeth and are made to fit over a specially prepared tooth. An incredibly versatile treatment modality, crowns are indicated in a variety of situations:

• Strengthening a tooth that may be prone to getting damaged due to:

⁃  A large cavity

⁃  An extensive filling

⁃  Significant wear

⁃  A crack

⁃  A fracture

⁃  Substantial chipping not corrigible with simpler treatments like composite bonding

⁃  Little remaining tooth structure

⁃  Past root canal treatment

• Improving the appearance of a tooth that is:

⁃  Discoloured

⁃  Misshapen

• Correcting the alignment of a tooth that is out-of-arch
• Attaching bridges to replace missing teeth

Severely damaged teeth are not only an aesthetic challenge, they are also a detriment to function and stability of your dentition. Crowns offer a time-tested solution that allows you to not only restore the missing tooth structure, but it also lets you prevent deterioration of your oral health. Some advantages that crowns present include:

• Relatively simple workflow to receive definitive fixed restorations which look, feel and function in a way that similar to your natural dentition
• Satisfactory long-term return to optimum function
• Easy incorporation of aesthetic corrections in the treatment plan
• Higher gains in oral-health-related quality-of-life which means you feel good about your teeth

With a long history of innovation in the technology and materials that are used to manufacture crowns and bridges, your Genix dentists are more empowered than ever to deliver a precise and aesthetic replacement that serves you in the long run. Genix partners with dental labs that share our values when it comes to creating high-quality treatment outcomes, and that collaborate with our dentists closely to tailor your crown to your unique situation.

Making a crown involves creating space for the material from which they will be made. Depending on your clinical situation, your Genix dentist will present to you the treatment possibilities that are appropriate to restore your aesthetics and function. Once you have chosen the material you would like your crown to be made out of, your dentist will shape the teeth to receive the crown keeping in mind the specific requirements for that material. An impression or a scan of your teeth is then taken to prepare a model of your jaw, and your bite is recorded.

The dental lab then prepares your bespoke crown. Once the crown is trialled for the fit, bite, appearance and comfort, it is cemented securely in your mouth.

You may be offered the following types of crowns based on the material used:

Metal

The time-honoured choice to make a strong, long-lasting restoration, metal crowns are made of a variety of purpose-created metal alloys. These include alloys that contain gold or other precious metals like platinum or palladium, as well as non-precious metal alloys that contain nickel and chromium. A particularly great choice in back teeth where space is tight or when the bite is heavy, metal crowns are most appropriate in areas that are aesthetically not very critical due to their metallic appearance. The dental lab employs different methods to make these: traditional casting, metal-laser-sintering and milling.

Porcelain-fused-to-metal

Occupying the middle ground with tooth-like appearance and strength from the metal in them, porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns—also sometimes known as porcelain-bonded-to-metal crowns—are created by layering porcelain on a metal substructure. This unique combination is put to use not only in the back teeth, but also sometimes in the front teeth. Due to the need to mask the metal, these crowns are not as translucent as teeth. This opacity limits their use in aesthetically sensitive areas.

All-ceramic

All-ceramic crowns—also called all-porcelain crowns—are made of specialty tooth-coloured ceramics of different varieties, and hence can offer life-like aesthetic appearance thanks to their translucency which approaches that of the natural teeth. The different types of ceramics used include lithium disilicate (e.g. e.max®), alumina-reinforced (e.g. Procera®) and zirconia (Lava®, BruxZir®). They excel in different areas: some are better cosmetically; some are stronger than others. Your Genix dentist will help you arrive at which one is best for you.

Temporary crowns

Until your permanent crown is cemented in your mouth, it may be necessary to provide a provisional replacement to ensure that the shaped teeth are held in place and to take care of possible sensitivity. Temporary crowns made of materials like acrylic and composite are useful for this purpose, and sometimes may be made chairside by the dentist themselves. They are cemented with temporary cements to allow easy retrieval when the permanent restoration is to be placed.