Crowns are one of the most common appliances used in modern dentistry, and the technology used to create them has grown dramatically. We can design and create them while you’re still sitting in the dental chair. Not only that, but we can do it in a manner that is not mass-produced or uniform, but unique to your specific mouth.
What is a Crown?
The crown of your tooth is the biting surface. It’s the part we can see when you smile, and it does an enormous amount of work in the mouth.
The crown is covered in a layer of tough, mineralized material called enamel. In fact, enamel is the hardest substance produced by the human body, which really tells you how much work the crowns of your teeth have to do.
Although enamel is extremely tough, it is still susceptible to accident and damage, just like anything else in our bodies. Sometimes enamel breaks or is worn through by bacteria and decay. When that happens, it needs to be repaired.
Cavities can often be fixed with a simple filling, but sometimes that isn’t quite enough.
How Does a Synthetic Crown Work?
When the patch job of a filling isn’t going to be sufficient to protect a damaged tooth, we replace the entire crown with a synthetic one that has no breaks or chips. This new layer of hardened material continues to protect the sensitive interiors of your teeth just as the natural enamel once did.
These new crowns fit overtop your old teeth just like a protective cap. They are not bulky or awkward in any way, but fit perfectly into your bite as though they’ve always been there.
CEREC
One of the machines we use in the crafting of these synthetic crowns is a CEREC, or Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. That’s a mouthful of a phrase used to describe a very simple and extremely useful concept: the CEREC machine makes crowns, bridges, veneers, dentures, and implant crowns while you wait.
Yes, that’s right! While you’re still in your appointment, getting prepped by your dentist, this miraculous machine can actually mill out your perfectly crafted dental appliances using data from the most current digital scans of your mouth.
Primescan
We’re especially excited to introduce the Primescan intraoral camera to do those scans. This piece of equipment is one of the latest and most advanced scanning technologies available in dentistry.
The Primescan helps us take your measurements, craft your crowns, and send them to the CEREC mill with greater accuracy and speed than ever before. Not only that, but it is designed to keep us constantly up-to-date with what happens in the dental industry.
Call Today
If you’re in need of a crown, whether to cap an injured tooth or complete a dental implant, Coleman Burgess, DDS, is the place for you. Give us a call today to schedule your appointment.