If your teeth are damaged, decayed, misshapen, or have undergone recent root canal treatment, dental crowns can be a beneficial solution. Often referred to as dental caps, this straightforward restorative dental treatment safeguards and fortifies your teeth while preserving a natural appearance and sensation.
The dental crown procedure commences with a comprehensive dental assessment. Our dentist will assess and clean your teeth in preparation for the dental crowns. In the event of a fractured or extensively decayed tooth, the dentist will eliminate the damaged portions to ensure the tooth cap can effectively safeguard the tooth from additional decay.
Subsequently, our dentist will create an impression of your teeth, which will be sent to a laboratory for the fabrication of the crowns. In the interim, we will furnish you with a temporary dental crown to wear until your follow-up appointment.
During your second appointment, we will carefully remove the temporary crown and replace it with a permanent one. The permanent crown will be firmly attached using resilient dental cement or a concealed screw. To finalize the procedure, we will meticulously polish your crown and make any essential adjustments to ensure your comfort and security.
The out-of-pocket cost for a dental crown can vary widely from patient to patient. With a typical insurance plan a single crown averages out to about $200 to $600+. Without insurance, a reasonable figure for a crown is about $800 to $1200 and up.
Needing a crown after a root canal depends highly on the location of the tooth in the mouth—teeth towards the back of the mouth like molars and premolars are needed more for chewing, and generally require crowns, where incisors or canines which aren’t needed for chewing don’t always require crowns.
One difference between a crown vs filling is that a crown is much more durable for teeth with a large biting surface. Repeated pressure from chewing or from habitual clenching can cause fillings on the biting surfaces of molars to chip or come loose. A crown, being a single unbroken surface from gumline to gumline, is designed to take much more force over a longer period of time.
Dental crowns play two important roles in your mouth. First and foremost, they completely restore the function of your tooth which means you can close your teeth and chew without pain or discomfort or without having to compensate by chewing on one side. Secondarily (but also important!) crowns are designed to blend in with your natural teeth. That means they are coloured and contoured to match your aesthetic. In fact, sometimes people forget altogether which tooth is the crown.
A post isn’t quite a dental implant (which is surgically implanted in the jaw bone) but it is exactly what it sounds like: a medical-grade post that may be cemented into a prepared root-canal to reinforce the base and core of a dental crown. Dental posts are only used if there isn’t enough healthy tooth left over to reliably hold a crown.
Depending on the state of your tooth, getting a crown can feel a bit like getting a filling. We take our time to patiently numb the area and then use freezing as necessary so the preparation of your tooth isn’t painful. You may feel a little sensitivity or some soreness in the gums around the tooth for a short period of time following your procedure. If you feel anxious about visiting the dentist, let us know! We would love to put your mind at ease and make your experience as comfortable as possible.
In most cases, dental crowns can last up to 15 years. However, if they are properly maintained, they can last for 25-30 years.
A dental crown is maintained just like a natural tooth. Regular brushing and flossing keep your dental crown – and the supporting gum around it – healthy and clean. Regular cleanings and checkups at your dentist are essential to your oral health.
