What are Dental Crowns?

Dental crowns are essentially a cap that covers your entire tooth. If it’s replacing a missing tooth, it looks identical to a tooth without a root. The purpose of a dental crown is to restore the strength, appearance, and structure of a tooth while also protecting the tooth underneath from further damage and infection. Your dentist may recommend a dental crown following a root canal, if your tooth is severely damaged, or if you have lots of fillings in a single tooth. The more missing natural tooth structure your tooth has, the weaker it is. Dental crowns can restore the strength of your tooth so you don’t have to get an extraction in the future.

At Elevated Smiles, Dr. Luu can provide you with a same-day dental crown that we create in our own Carlsbad dental office using CEREC. This prevents you from wearing a temporary crown and making multiple trips to our dental office. Our patients can expect to receive beautiful and natural appearing dental crowns that help enhance your smile.

Problems Dental Crowns Can Address

Here are some of the problems a dental crown can address.

  • Chipped, cracked or misshapen teeth
  • Stained teeth
  • Worn teeth
  • Short/small teeth
  • Teeth with large fillings
  • Teeth that have had a root canal
  • Teeth with several fillings

We can also use dental crowns to replace missing teeth or to serve as anchors for a dental bridge.

Dental Crowns Procedure

If you need a dental crown in Carlsbad, the procedure is quite simple. If we’re placing your dental crown on top of an existing tooth, we must first prepare the tooth. This includes any tooth decay removal or a root canal in addition to removing some of the tooth structure to make room for the dental crown.

The following steps apply to patients replacing missing teeth or placing a crown on top of existing teeth. Next, we will take digital impressions of your tooth or the area using our CEREC. The image is uploaded to the computer where we will design your dental crown. After we complete the design, we send it to the CEREC where it begins milling your crown from a block of ceramic. Soon enough, your crown will be ready to place. Dr. Luu will check the fit, make adjustments and either bond the crown to your existing tooth or attach it to the abutment on a dental implant.

What are Dental Bridges?

A procedure that goes hand in hand with dental crowns is a dental bridge. Dental bridges can replace one or several missing teeth with dental implants. A dental bridge comprises of two dental crowns and a false tooth between them. The dental crowns are placed on either an existing tooth or a dental implant to hold the false tooth in place. The result is a secure and beautiful tooth replacement that looks completely natural. Your dental bridge is secure in place so you never have to worry about it falling out like dentures.

Contact Our Carlsbad, CA Dentists for Dental Crowns and Bridges

If you need a dental crown or bridge in Carlsbad, our dentist at Elevated Smiles can help. Our dental office can provide you with same-day dentistry and help you restore your smile to complete health and function again. Please contact us for an appointment by calling (760) 622-3010 today.