How Crowns Can Provide a Smile Makeover

Dental crowns, or caps, are a popular restoration option that protects the natural structure of your teeth and can provide a smile makeover. If you are considering a smile makeover due to misshapen, decayed-ridden, or cracked teeth, dental crowns may be an appropriate solution. Discover how these small caps can quickly transform your smile.

Why choose dental crowns for a smile makeover?

Dental crowns effectively improve the appearance of vulnerable teeth that have recently undergone a root canal, trauma, or decay removal. They are also ideal for covering more cosmetic impurities such as discoloration and misshapen teeth, making them popular for teens and adults who desire a complete smile makeover or need to repair only a few teeth.

Dental crowns' many benefits make them an attractive option for a smile makeover, including their natural appearance, durability, protective nature, and ability to improve oral functionality.

Natural appearance

Dental crowns forgo the one-size-fits-all approach. They can be designed to match the color (depending on the material), size, and shape of one's natural teeth, offering a seamless and natural appearance. The crowns are customized to fit in the patient's mouth perfectly as they are crafted in a lab using a 3D model or scan of the patient's teeth.

Durability

Dental crowns are highly durable and can withstand normal wear and tear and chewing and biting forces better than dental veneers (another smile makeover option). This is because the materials that can consist of gold, porcelain, metal, or composite are all built to last for ten years or more.

Protective nature

Often, patients need a crown due to their natural tooth structure being compromised in some way. The dentist will always seek to preserve the natural teeth before extracting them and providing a replacement option. Therefore, if possible, they recommend a crown, as it completely engulfs the natural tooth, protecting it from further damage and exposure to bacteria.

Improved oral function

Depending on the number of teeth compromised, the way they are compromised, as well as their location in the mouth, patients can find it difficult to eat and speak effectively. Dental crowns can provide a symmetrical appearance, while their durability enables patients to speak and bear down on objects more effectively.

What to expect when receiving a dental crown

Receiving this transformational smile makeover requires two trips to the dentist's office. The first visit will involve the dentist "cleaning up" or shaping the tooth or teeth intending to receive the crown. The dentist or dental assistant will then take 3D impressions or scans of the patient's mouth and send them to an off-site lab where the crowns will be crafted. Before ending the appointment, the dentist will fit the patient with a temporary crown that can protect the natural teeth until the custom crown is complete.

The second visit will occur approximately two weeks later, which should be ample time for the permanent crown to be returned. The dentist will remove the temporary crown and test the permanent crown's fit before affixing it in its proper place. They will test the patient's bite, making any necessary adjustments to provide a more comfortable fit.