Crown
Fillings and crowns are your dentist’s first lines of defense to prevent further tooth decay.
A filling is used to replace the decayed substance in your tooth where a cavity has formed. Your dentist will remove the decayed part of the tooth, clean out the cavity, and then place a filling to fill the void. This returns the tooth to a usable shape and structure and aims to prevent further tooth decay.
Both fillings and crowns are subject to wear and tear over time and may need to be replaced after several years or decades.
A crown (also referred to as a “cap”) may be necessary for teeth with greater amounts of decay or if a tooth is chipped or broken. A crown can also be used to cover teeth that are misshapen or discolored. It’s basically a cover for an existing tooth. It covers the entire portion of your tooth that extends above the gumline (the portion that can be seen).
Dental Crown Uses
Here are a few circumstances that could occur where we will almost always recommend that you get a dental crown instead of waiting or proceeding with just a filling.
In this case, it is strongly advised to get a crown. Once a tooth is chipped, cracked, or broken it is important to get it fixed to ensure that an infection can’t set in. Since the tooth is already damaged, we want to minimize the risk and prevent further breakage.
If a tooth is decayed to the point where it is affecting neighboring teeth, it is time to consider a cap that can prevent the spread of the bacteria to other areas of the mouth.
In some cases, older fillings are too large and hence not secure. In this case, we would consider a dental crown, as a replacement to the filling that would look better and also provide more strength to the tooth itself.
