Porcelain crown from Central London dentist saves tooth
When a tooth is chipped, cracked or broken, either by a sporting injury or other accident, the dentist will first attempt to repair the damage using composite resin dental bonding. However, if the tooth is damaged too severely, to preserve the tooth, there is little option but to fit a porcelain crown. This involves constructing a porcelain copy of the tooth to cap the damaged one. Crowns are also known as caps or veneers for this reason. A porcelain crown can preserve the integrity of the broken tooth, which can help to preserve its functionality.
Crowns are not only used to repair damaged or broken teeth. Because of advances in their construction and appearance they are increasingly being used for cosmetic purposes. Patients with badly stained or discoloured teeth, spacing issues or worn down teeth can now have porcelain crowns fitted to restore their natural appearance.
In the past, crowns have been made from other materials and have often looked unrealistic or fake. They have also been very difficult to fabricate, often taking weeks of laboratory work. With the introduction of computer aided design and manufacture, porcelain crowns can now be designed, manufactured and fitted in one appointment with the dentist in as little as an hour. By using 3D imaging the dentist can create an extremely accurate crown which will be milled by the computer, according to the exact specifications, from a single piece of porcelain in under twenty minutes.
Further advances in crown technology have produced crowns that are incredibly thin, which still maintain their strength. Some crowns can be as thin as a contact lens and require minimum removal of enamel to fit, something that dentists have been reluctant to do in the past. Some new crowns are so thin they can even be fitted over existing dental work.
Porcelain crowns are very versatile dental appliances that thanks to improvements in dental technology can be an incredibly realistic substitute for a real tooth. Because they are made from porcelain they can be very strong and help to preserve a broken tooth that may very well have been lost in other circumstances. If you are suffering from a broken tooth, or any form of cosmetic problem that could benefit form veneers, ask your Central London dentist if they could be suitable for you.
