Dental Crowns – Columbia, TN
Smile, Speak, and Eat Unhindered
If you have a cracked or broken tooth, suffer from extensive tooth decay, have had a root canal, or just want to make your imperfect tooth look like new again, then dental crowns in Columbia, TN from Beck Dental Care of Columbia may be just the treatment you need. Our team of skilled dentists can create a custom dental crown from natural-looking materials so that no one even has to know you got dental work done. Call our dental office today to learn how our dental crown solutions can give you back the functional teeth you need to smile, speak, and eat unhindered.
What Are Dental Crowns?
Also called a “cap,” a dental crown is a personalized restorative dentistry solution that fits over a damaged, decayed, or otherwise flawed tooth to protect it and renew its ability to help you eat and smile. While crowns are most commonly used to shield a vulnerable tooth from additional damage, they can also be used for cosmetic reasons – such as to improve the appearance of a severely stained or chipped tooth.
Depending on your unique oral health situation as well as your preferences, we can make dental crowns out of the following materials:
- Precious metal (gold or silver)
- Porcelain fused to metal
- All-porcelain or ceramic
Typically, we recommend metal crowns for teeth toward the back of the mouth, as metals are better able to withstand the daily pressures of chewing. The other two options can be color-matched to blend in with your surrounding teeth while also still being fairly durable, so we often place them on front teeth.
The Dental Crown Treatment Process
Not counting a consultation with your dentist in Columbia, you can usually expect the dental crown process to take two appointments. The first visit involves preparing your tooth. We may either remove a thin outer of layer of enamel or build up the tooth using filling material to ensure the tooth can adequately support a crown. Next, we capture impressions of your teeth, creating a mold that our partnered dental lab uses to craft your restoration.
This process may take a few weeks. In the interim, we will likely place a temporary crown to protect your tooth. Once the final crown has arrived at our dental office, you’ll return for a much shorter appointment, during which we remove the temporary, make any last-minute adjustments to the permanent crown, and cement it into your tooth.
Benefits of Dental Crowns
In the old days, there was not much that dentists could do to salvage a severely damaged tooth. In fact, they would often simply remove these teeth entirely. These days, though, tooth extractions are only used as a last resort when no other treatment can save the tooth. The invention of dental crowns played a key role in that process. Dental crowns help you retain your natural teeth by protecting them from further breaking down and necessitating extraction.
Additionally, dental crowns can effectively conceal cosmetic imperfections in your teeth. Whether you have stubborn dark stains that do not respond to teeth whitening treatment or small chips or cracks that do not threaten the structural integrity of your tooth, crowns can make these flaws instantly disappear. Plus, dental porcelain can be customized to mimic the exact shade of your surrounding teeth, guaranteeing seamless results.
Dental Crown Frequently Asked Questions
Have you been told that you’re in need of a dental crown? This restoration is a great way to keep structurally compromised teeth in good health. However, you may still have some unanswered questions. Here are the answers to some of the most common queries we receive about dental crowns in Columbia. If you don’t see the information that you’re looking for below, don’t worry. Give us a call and we’d be happy to answer your questions and schedule you for an appointment.