Dental crowns are most commonly used in the following cases:

·       When teeth are significantly broken down andwhere restoring them with a conventional restoration (filling) is either notpossible or is not adequate enough to maintain the integrity of the tooth.

·       For teeth which may not be broken but which arevery heavily restored with large fillings and where there is significant riskof the tooth breaking if it not adequately protected.

·       For back teeth which have had root canaltreatment which renders the tooth a lot weaker and highly susceptible tobreakage – in such cases crowns are strongly recommended to prevent these teethfrom breaking.

·       For teeth that have significant cracks to stopthem from worsening and to reduce the pain .

·       For highly discoloured teeth where otherconservative means of improving the cosmetics of these teeth (ie tooth whitening,veneers, restorations etc) has not worked.

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Crowns can either be tooth coloured or non-tooth coloured. Tooth coloured crowns are usually made from Zirconia, porcelain (with metal on the inside), lithium silicate or a combination of these materials. Non tooth coloured Crowns are usually made from metal which can be Gold or non precious metals.

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Yes your crown can be matched to whatever colour is required. How good the match will be depends on which material is used, the quality of the crown used and how skillful the technician is. With the best quality crowns in the most experienced hands, it can be difficult to tell the difference between a crown and a natural tooth. At Zental, we only use the finest London based labs for our crowns.

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Not at all. In the right hands and with the right choice ofmaterials and a good quality lab, we can make the crown look like the adjacenttooth. At Zental, we use the highest quality materials and only hire highlyexperienced dentists and technicians that have a long track record of achievingthe best quality results for the most discerning of our patients.

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Since crowns cover the entire tooth, they are retained mechanically by the presence of sufficient tooth height that it covers. The more natural tooth that remains the better this mechanical retention will be. The crowns are cemented onto the tooth and this also provides some retention. In cases where there is sufficient tooth height for a crown, it is mainly retained mechanically with the cement having limited effect. When insufficient tooth height remains, then the mechanical retention afforded to crowns is limited and so in such cases the crown relies on the adhesiveness and strength of the cement to hold it in place.

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Assuming the crowns have been fitted correctly, the answer to this question boils down to how much natural tooth was remaining prior to the crown being in place and consequently how much the crown is retained mechanically to the tooth. The more the mechanical retention, the harder it will be for the crown to dislodge. The more the crown relies on the adhesiveness of the cement to hold it in, the higher the risk of the crown being dislodged more often.

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No. A crown is merely a shell that fits over your existing tooth in order to protect it from future fracture. The tooth below the crown can become decayed just as easily if not more so prior to the crown being fitted. Whether the tooth then becomes decayed in future is dependent on one’s susceptibility to tooth decay, how well they keep it clean and how much sugar is consumed in one’s diet.

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Like with anything, price is governed by the quality and hence cost of the material used, the experience of the technician and lab, the experience of the dentist and the degree of cosmetic enhancement you require. The better the quality of the crown one requires, the more expensive the crown will be in some cases. At Zental, we believe in working to an exceptional standard that makes our cost very reasonable relative to the quality of work we provide.

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An onlay is a type of partial crown that mainly covers the biting surface of the tooth and then only as much or little of the rest of the tooth as necessary. It is similar to a crown in that it covers the biting surface to protect it from fracture but is different in that is does not encapsulate the entire tooth like a crown does.

An onlay conserves more of the natural tooth structure as less space creation is needed and relies more on the adhesiveness of the cement holding it in.

An onlay is ideal for when we wish to preserve as much of the healthy tooth structure as possible and where aesthetics are not a prime consideration.

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Your dentist will advise you with the best option and this will be case as well as tooth specific. When deciding on the best option you have to decide which two of the following qualities you wish to have: ‘minimally invasive’, ‘maximum longevity’ or ‘maximum aesthetics’. Usually only two of these are possible but never all three as there is always a trade off.

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Since the crown encapsulates the tooth – it may require the removal of between 0.5-2mm of tooth structure all the way around the tooth/filling in order to create room for the crown to sit over the tooth. The amount of space needed is commonly determined by factors such as:

·       What material is used

·       How aesthetically pleasing you wish it to look

·       How much tooth is already present

·       Your bite

·       The type of crown or onlay that is used.

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There is a small risk that when a tooth is prepared for a crown that the nerve inside the tooth may get irrigated as a result of this preparation. There is an even smaller risk that this may result in the nerve ultimately dying in the future where the tooth may then require root canal treatment. The risk is even lower for an onlay as the preparation is much less than for a crown.

Most teeth that are to be crowned or onlayed already have along history of trauma and disease and so are already at risk of the nerve dying, so it is impossible to say whether if such happens it is due to the crown or whether it would have happened anyway.

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There is no reason to cut down a healthy tooth and put acrown on it. If one wishes to have a cosmetic improvement to a particular tooththen there are far more conservative means of managing such cases and placing acrown in such instances is not recommended under normal circumstances.

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This depends on many factors such as:

·       How badly damaged the tooth was in the first instance,

·       How well the crown is maintained and cleaned,

·       Your diet and how susceptible your teeth are to future decay/damage to name but a few reasons.

Some peoples’ crowns have lasted in excess of 30 years whilst others have lasted only a couple of years – again depending the above factors amongst others.

If you think you would benefit from a crown or would like to know more, contact us today for an assessment.

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