Crowns cover and protect
Metal can mean dark lines
All-porcelain crowns

All-Porcelain Crowns

A tooth-colored crown may be made of both porcelain and metal, or, thanks to newly available technology, it may be made entirely of porcelain.

Metal and porcelain crowns

In the past, porcelain crowns were always built upon a metal core. That was the only way they could have enough strength to withstand the tremendous biting forces that are exerted on all of your teeth. That metal core is what creates the dark blue line at the edge of many crowns.

The benefits of all-porcelain crowns

Recent breakthroughs in adhesives, combined with the development of stronger porcelain materials, allow us to make crowns entirely out of porcelain. All-porcelain crowns maintain a translucency that makes them hard to tell from natural teeth. Without metal, the problem of a dark line at the edge of the gums is eliminated. This allows us to place the edge of the crown above the gumline, and that's healthier for your tooth and gums.

When you want to improve your smile, all-porcelain crowns are a beautiful and natural-looking choice.

Some cracks aren't a problem
Other cracks may break
Crowns strengthen and protect

Crowning a CrackedTooth

Why do teeth sometimes crack?

Your teeth endure a tremendous amount of biting pressure every day, not only from eating, but also from habits like jaw clenching and nighttime grinding. Sometimes, this pressure causes a tooth to fracture or crack. Some cracks aren't a problem and can exist for years without any negative consequences. Other cracks, especially those next to fillings, can eventually cause a portion of your tooth to break away.

You may feel it.or you may not

A cracked tooth is sometimes painful when you chew and may be sensitive to hot and cold. Other times, it may feel perfectly fine. We recommend that you always see us for an exam if you think you have a cracked tooth, even if it doesn't hurt. Without treatment, bacteria can seep through the crack in the enamel and cause an infection in the inner pulp layer of your tooth, which contains the tooth's nerves and blood supply. From here, the pus from the infection can eventually gather down at the root tip and pass into the jaw bone, causing a painful, destructive abscess.

A crown can prevent these problems

To prevent a cracked tooth from breaking, and to seal out bacteria and infection,we often recommend placing a crown over a cracked tooth. A crown covers the crack and protects and strengthens your tooth.

It takes at least two appointments to create a crown for you because it's custom made to precisely fit your tooth. First,we'll prepare the tooth and take an impression. Using this impression, a model of your mouth is created; your crown is fabricated on this model. You'll wear a temporary crown to cover and protect the prepared tooth while your custom crown is being fabricated.

A root canal can weaken a tooth
X-rays are part of the diagnosis

Cracked Tooth Syndrome

What is cracked tooth syndrome?

Cracked tooth syndrome is a term that describes recurring discomfort, sensitivity, or pain that is caused by an incomplete fracture or crack in a tooth. The fracture involved in cracked tooth syndrome is often difficult to detect and may be completely invisible to the naked eye. It may not even appear on an x-ray.

How do teeth crack?

As your teeth age, they may lose some of their original strength. Clenching and grinding, for instance, can weaken teeth. Large fillings and root canal treatment can also cause your teeth to lose strength and make them brittle. Every day, your teeth endure a tremendous amount of pressure from biting and chewing, so if you bite down on a hard object like a piece of ice or a popcorn kernel, the force can sometimes cause a tooth to crack, especially if it's already weakened.

Symptoms of cracked tooth syndrome

You may have cracked tooth syndrome if you experience any of these symptoms:

You find yourself chewing on only one side of your mouth because it's uncomfortable to chew on the other side.

Your teeth are sensitive to hot or cold temperatures, or to sweet or sour foods.

You feel a sharp pain when you bite down.

The pain you feel is intermittent, rather than constant.

Diagnosis and treatment

To diagnose cracked tooth syndrome,we'll first perform a thorough exam of your mouth and teeth, focusing on the area that's painful. We'll usually take x-rays, which may or may not reveal the fracture, and we'll analyze your bite to isolate the problem. Once we've identified the fractured portion of your tooth, the treatment we'll use depends on the location and direction of the crack, as well as the extent of the damage.

If the crack affects only the outer enamel layer of your tooth,we'll remove the affected portion and restore the tooth with a crown or onlay to stabilize it and protect it from further damage. If the crack affects the underlying dentin or pulp layers, however, you'll need more complicated treatment, such as root canal treatment, before we can place a crown.

In rare cases, a crack extends all the way through the tooth and under the bone. In these cases, there is no way to restore the tooth, and we have no other option besides removing the tooth. Fortunately, most cracked teeth can be saved. The key is to find the crack early in its development and treat it appropriately.

Your tooth's anatomy
A cavity beneath a crown
A beautiful new crown

A Failing Crown

Even though a crown protects and strengthens your tooth, you can still develop a cavity at the crown's edge, where it meets the tooth. This area is very prone to developing plaque, and it can be one of the toughest spots in your mouth to keep plaque-free.

If the decay has barely started next to a crown, it's easy to fix with a filling, unless it's between your teeth where we just can't get to it. If the cavity penetrates the protective outer enamel layer and reaches the softer dentin layer, it progresses much more quickly and can cause an infection in the inner pulp layer, which contains your tooth's nerves and blood vessels.

A more serious problem

When your tooth's pulp is infected, the only way to treat the infection is by performing root canal treatment to remove the infected tissue. Without root canal treatment, the infection will continue to spread; pus from the infection may gather at the tip of the root and pass into the jaw bone, causing an abscess. An abscess can be excruciatingly painful, and it can damage the bone that surrounds your tooth.

For these reasons, if your crown has failed,we typically recommend removing it and the decay beneath it. We'll then replace the old crown with a new one, which will re-seal your tooth and protect it from further decay and infection. By replacing the crown early, before the decay gets into the pulp chamber of your tooth, you can avoid discomfort, unnecessary damage to your tooth, and more complicated, extensive treatment.

Large cavities weaken teeth
Tooth broken from large filling
Crowns cover and protect teeth

Restoring a Large Cavity

Why does a large cavity sometimes need a crown?

We can usually restore small cavities with fillings. However, when a large portion of your tooth has been damaged by decay,we'll need to remove a significant amount of the tooth in order to remove all the decay. When a tooth loses much of its natural structure, it also loses much of its support and strength. As a result, it can easily fracture, or a portion of it can break away entirely.

A cracked or broken tooth allows infection-causing bacteria into the vulnerable inner layer of your tooth, called the pulp. The pulp is comprised of soft tissue containing your tooth's nerves and blood vessels, and an infection in this area can cause these tissues to die. Without its blood supply, your tooth can become brittle and break more easily.

If this were to happen,we would need to perform root canal treatment to eliminate the infection within your tooth's pulp. Without this treatment, the infection could easily spread to the root tips and into the surrounding bone, causing a damaging, painful abscess.

A crown can prevent these problems

A crown prevents these problems by completely covering the portion of your tooth that extends above the gumline. Crowns cover and protect your tooth, adding strength and stability and restoring your tooth's function and appearance.

Depending on where it will be placed in your mouth, your crown may be made from metal, porcelain fused to a metal base, or entirely out of porcelain. Together,we'll decide which kind of crown is best for your situation.

It takes at least two appointments to create a crown because it's custom-made to precisely fit your tooth. First,we'll prepare the tooth, and then we'll take an impression. Using this impression, a model of your mouth is created; your crown is fabricated on this model. You'll wear a temporary crown to cover and protect the prepared tooth while your custom crown is being fabricated.

Back of a porcelain-fused-to-metal
crown
Metal core
A natural-looking choice

Porcelain-Fused-to-Metal Crowns

A porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crown consists of a porcelain outer layer baked onto a metal core. It is precision crafted in a dental laboratory.

Choosing a PFM crown

When a front tooth needs a restoration, sometimes it's best to use a PFM crown. We might choose a fused-to-metal crown to restore a tooth when a large filling has failed, or when the tooth is chipped, cracked, broken, or subject to grinding and clenching.

The advantages of a PFM crown

A PFM crown has several advantages:

• The metal core supports the tooth.
• It's strong enough to withstand the heaviest biting forces and resist fracturing.
• It's durable and long-lasting.
• The porcelain can be made to closely match your natural teeth.

When you need a crown, PFM crowns are a strong and natural-looking choice.

Damage from a weakened filling
A crown covers and protects
Natural-looking results

Restoring a Worn Filling

Restoring a worn filling with a crown

If a small filling wears out, and most of your natural tooth is still intact, it's usually safe to replace it with another filling. But when a large filling wears out, it's often best to switch to a crown. Unlike a filling, a crown covers and protects a damaged tooth.

Your fillings endure an incredible amount of biting force every day, and as they age, they often become worn and weakened. Their appearance and their ability to function degrade. If they crack or become loose, they lose their protective seal, which can lead to decay.

How much of your natural tooth is remaining?

When we evaluate a filling that needs replacement,we consider both the size of the filling and the amount of healthy tooth structure that remains. Sometimes,we can replace your filling with another filling, but it will typically be larger than the original. Large fillings weaken your tooth and leave it more vulnerable to damage; a damaged tooth is much more difficult to repair. That's why we often recommend a crown when replacing a large worn filling. A crown will strengthen and protect your existing tooth, and help prevent additional damage.

Placing a crown

Typically, it takes two appointments to restore your tooth with a crown because it's custom crafted in a dental laboratory to precisely fit your tooth. After we've made sure the area is completely numb,we remove any decay and shape your tooth. We then take an impression of your teeth, which gives us an accurate working model of your mouth, so we can re-create your natural bite. It will take the dental lab several weeks to create your crown. During this time, you'll have a temporary crown to cover and protect the prepared tooth. At your next visit,we'll remove the temporary crown and place your new custom crown, carefully checking the fit and your bite. When everything looks good, we'll cement it in place and you'll have your new crown.

Your tooth anatomy
An infection in the pulp
and root canals
Crowns strengthen and protect

Crownsand Root Canals

How does root canal treatment affect a tooth?

Root canal treatment leaves a tooth brittle and weak. The tooth is weakened because we had to remove the center of it to get at the infected nerve. This leaves only the sides of the tooth for support. The nerve and blood supply are also removed during root canal treatment, so the remaining tooth structure may become brittle over time.

Why is it essential to place a crown after root canal treatment?

A tremendous amount of force is applied to the edges of teeth when you bite together. If a tooth is not crowned after root canal treatment, that force can cause some of the tooth to break away. If a tooth breaks, it is much more difficult to repair.

After root canal treatment, a crown is an important step that covers, strengthens, and protects your tooth