A dental crown is an artificial tooth shaped ‘cap’ that is placed on a tooth to cover it. It is often used to improve the aesthetics(beauty) of a tooth or to strengthen a weak tooth.
The following are the functions of Dental crowns
- To cover discolored teeth e.g tetracycline stained teeth.
- To restore a broken tooth.
- To improve the beauty of a tooth e.g a peg-shaped(conical) tooth.
- To cover, support and strengthen a tooth with a large filling on it.
- To cover and restore a worn down tooth which has become sensitive to hot or cold.
- To hold a dental bridge in place.
- To cover a dental implant.
Dental crowns come in various materials such as stainless steel, resin, ‘all ceramic’, ‘all metal’ such as gold, ceramic(porcelain) fused to metal and zirconia.
A dental crown is fixed onto the tooth with the aid of a dental cement and can not be removed at will, it requires the expertise of a dentist to place and remove.