Types of Crowns
When you need a crown , your dentist should give you a choice of different types of crowns. The choice gives you the ability to choose a crown in your price range, as some dental materials are very expensive while others are more affordable. It also gives you the chance to choose what your crown will look like, to an extent.
Temporary Crowns
The first crown you‚’ll receive is actually what‚’s called a temporary crown . It‚’s not meant to last you for years, but only as long as it takes for the dental lab to make your permanent crown. You don‚’t get much choice with these. Temporary crowns are usually made with an acrylic resin. The crown will be tooth colored and probably won‚’t look strange to anyone who sees it if it‚’s a front tooth, but it might not look exactly like your teeth.
But temporary crowns aren‚’t made to last and require some special care while you‚’re waiting for your permanent crown. They‚’re not cemented on as tightly as permanent crowns, so that during your second dentist visit, he can remove it easily. So you‚’ll need to try to avoid very sticky, chewy, hard or tacky foods to avoid accidentally pulling the temporary crown loose and having to go back to the dentist to have it re-cemented.
It‚’s even a good idea to avoid chewing on the side with the temporary crown, just to minimize the risk of problems. It will only be for a few weeks, so it shouldn‚’t cause too much inconvenience.
Types of Crowns: Permanent Crowns
Your permanent crown can be made of many different types of materials:
- All metal
- Porcelain that‚’s fused to metal
- Resin
- Ceramic
- All porcelain, or all ceramic
- All metal
- Porcelain that‚’s fused to metal
- Resin
- Ceramic
- All porcelain, or all ceramic
Why Offer Different Types of Crowns?
The different types of crowns have a different appearance, but there are also other reasons the dentist might suggest or you might use a specific material.
Metal crowns , including gold crowns , require that much less tooth be filed away because these crowns are thinner than other types. And metal tends to wear against the opposing teeth less than other materials. They also stand up to hard biting and chewing very well, and are the least likely material to chip or break. They‚’re most often used for molars and teeth that don‚’t show, but some people choose them, particularly gold, for front teeth, too.
Crowns made from porcelain, either all porcelain (all ceramic) or porcelain over metal will match the color of your teeth. They‚’re harder on your opposing teeth but look more natural. Porcelain over metal will often start to show a dark line at the base of the tooth where the metal base eventually shows; so all ceramic crowns are best aesthetically for front teeth. Porcelain over metal are the stronger of the two, but both can chip and break with hard wear.
Resin crowns are the least expensive type, but they wear more quickly than other types of crowns and tend to break more often.
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