Crowns Are Not Only for Queens

Queens have historically stood out from the crowd based on their style of clothing. Namely, the crown of jewels that denoted royalty. Today, we don’t see many queens walking around the streets of Glendale. We do, however, know that quite a few people have crowns – dental crowns!

A dental crown is a sort of cap that fits over the visible part of a tooth. In the past, crowns had been quite noticeable, like golden or silver gems in the mouth. Certainly, that has gone out of style in most circles. Today, the intent of a crown is to preserve natural tooth structure by protecting it against the force of chewing. At the same time, most people want their crowns to blend in with the smile. No more gold and silver, just nice, white teeth.

Why you may need a Dental Crown?

Ultimate, people need dental crowns when tooth damage has occurred to a substantial degree. Whenever possible, smaller restorations are used in our Glendale office. This could be a tooth-colored filling or an inlay or onlay (think of these as partial crowns). A crown is typically only needed when the degree of damage has exceeded the limitations of other options.

Specific examples include:

• A tooth has a noticeable crack or fracture. These types of injuries do not heal, and could get worse if not covered.
• There is no crack, but a tooth has become very weak due to decay or an old filling.
• A tooth has become severely worn.
• Infection has developed in the root area, requiring root canal therapy.

The Importance of Crown Treatment

Depending on the extent of tooth damage, there will be implications to postponing restorative treatment. It is possible that, if your tooth has only a slight craze line (which many molars do), nothing will happen. Anything larger than this tiny line will progressively get worse, though. A crack could eventually cause a full break. If the break extends below the gum line, the tooth may need to be extracted.

Crowns are a common restoration used to help our Glendale patients protect their natural teeth from further damage. We offer options that fit varying budgets and preferences, including all-ceramic, metal-free crowns. To learn more or to schedule your dental exam with our friendly team, call (818) 545-8923.