Weighing the Pros and Cons of Dental Crowns
Dental crowns are a specific type of restorative dentistry designed to improve the function and appearance of teeth. Crowns are made with different materials ranging from porcelain to ceramic to metal. A dental crown procedure requires several steps in order to complete the process safely and effectively.
What Do Crowns Treat?
To be clear, crowns are type of dental restoration, not a treatment. Porcelain dental crowns are designed to cover damaged teeth while mimicking the function and appearance of natural teeth.
Why are Crowns Important?
Crowns are an important part of dental care because they allow dental professionals to restore function to damaged or decayed teeth, rather than loosing the teeth all together. Crowns are typically placed after a root canal or a large drilling and subsequent filling. Sometimes, crowns can be utilized in place of dental implants.
The Pros of Dental Crowns
Dental crowns are vital to numerous dental treatment plans and come along with a bunch of advantages. They are durable, aesthetically pleasing, and can allow natural teeth to be saved rather than face extraction.
- Improved Strength After Decay: when your natural teeth experience great damage or decay, they are more susceptible to breakage or further decay. Crowns that’re placed on the teeth can prevent further tooth decay and improve oral health by improving the strength of weak teeth.
- Improved Aesthetic Appearance: dental crowns have long been used to improve the appearance of teeth that are chipped, decayed, or cracked. Whether they are for your front or back teeth, porcelain and composite crowns can improve the appearance of damaged teeth.
- Improved Functionality: whether you get a metal or porcelain crown, its main purpose is to improve the functionality of your damaged or decayed teeth by allowing the tooth to be used with the same intensity allowed by natural teeth. From dental implants to dental bridges, crowns provide a placeholder to allow your teeth and jaws to function how they should be, even with damage and decay.
The Cons of Dental Crowns
While many have great success using dental crowns, there are still some disadvantages of having crowns.
- The Preparation Process: in order to place a dental crown, you must first shave the teeth down and complete additional preparation procedures. The teeth are shaved down in order to fit within the crown while maintaining the same appearance. This means that once a tooth has received a dental crown, it can no longer function without it, making crowning a permanent procedure.
- Replacement Needs: although a temporary crown is clearly indicated for an eventual replacement, many people don’t realize that dental crowns must eventually be replaced. Because crowns are not natural teeth, they do not last forever within an oral cavity. Eventually, they will need to be replaced to prevent damage to the crown, tooth, or surrounding teeth.
Dental crowns are apart of restorative dentistry by providing an vital service for people with damaged or decayed teeth who require a tool to strengthen and improve the appearance of their teeth. To learn more about dental crowns, request an appointment today! Call 610-489-5555.
