Dental crowns can help you achieve a more beautiful, healthy smile.
Dental crowns are moving beyond restorative dentistry to fix a variety of cosmetic problems and help patients get their best smile yet.
Dental crowns are strong shell-like covers placed over teeth to change their appearance and strengthen the underlying natural tooth. They can be made of a composite, a metal, or the most popular option, beautiful porcelain.
Traditionally, dental crowns are used to protect weakened or damaged teeth that have suffered structural loss, such as those that have had root canal therapy or significant decay. However, due to their ability to completely transform the appearance of a tooth, dental crowns are very effective for cosmetic dental work as well.
Here are 6 ways dental crowns can help your smile.
1. Dental Crowns Can Whiten Permanently Discolored Teeth
Professional teeth whitening is in high-demand as many people find that a bright white smile looks healthy and attractive. Although professional teeth whitening yields incredible results, not all teeth respond as well to the treatment as others. Teeth may be permanently stained or discolored and it’s not possible for whitening to lift the dark color.
In the case of a permanently discolored tooth or teeth, your smile will first be whitened to your ideal shade. Your dentist will then design a dental crown to match the neighboring teeth in color, covering the dark tooth and blending it seamlessly into your smile.
2. Straighten Crooked and Misaligned Teeth
When you think of straightening crooked teeth, orthodontic treatment is often the first option that springs to mind. Orthodontic care is a great investment for completely straightening your entire smile, but what if you only have two or three teeth that are out of place?
Dental crowns can’t physically shift your teeth like braces, but they can change their visual alignment. During the preparation process, your dentist will remove some of your tooth enamel to make space for your new crown. Your dentist will compensate for the misalignment and place your crown so your new teeth will look straight.
3. Dental Crowns Can Close a Gap Between Two Teeth
In addition to straightening the appearance of crooked teeth, dental crowns can also be used to close gaps without orthodontic treatment.
Generally, at least two dental crowns will be needed, placed on the teeth that are forming the gap. Your natural teeth will be shaped during the preparation process in a typical fashion, but the newly designed crowns will be specifically sized to minimize the gap. Once placed, your permanent crowns will look just like natural teeth and your smile will be gap-free.
4. Shield Temperature-Sensitive Teeth
Though not cosmetic in nature, many patients are unaware of how easily their chronic temperature-sensitivity can be remedied. If you have a tooth or a couple of teeth that cause you to cringe when you eat something hot or cold, dental crowns could fix the problem.
Temperature-sensitivity is often related to worn or damaged tooth enamel. Since a dental crown completely envelopes your natural teeth with durable porcelain, your teeth have additional protection against temperature extremes.
5. Dental Crowns Can Reshape Worn or Uneven Teeth
Just as our bodies show age as we grow older, our smiles do as well. Teeth can be worn with age, showing signs of wear and tear, small chips, or subtle surface cracks. You might notice that the edges of your teeth are looking a bit uneven or even wavy.
Although molars do most of the chewing, it’s often the more visible teeth that show age more quickly. Dental crowns give you the option of covering these worn teeth so your smile can look more youthful and full. You might also treat yourself to a professional whitening session to really dial back the years on your smile.
6. Achieve a Veneer-Like Finish Easily
Porcelain veneers make for an incredible total smile makeover. Patients who want to transform their entire smile will get great results with porcelain veneers. However, porcelain veneers are a fairly intensive service, both in terms of the time and money that goes into it. In a situation where a patient may be hesitant to invest in partial veneers, dental crowns are a wonderful alternative.
Porcelain dental crowns offer the same benefits as porcelain veneers but may be a more comfortable option for patients who only have a few teeth they’d like covered. Rather than transforming their whole smile, patients are able to fix the areas of their smile they are not happy with while still sticking to a reasonable budget.
Learn how dental crowns can transform your smile by booking a consultation with Dr. Harrison.
Every smile is unique and every person has their own vision of their ideal smile. During your consultation with Dr. Harrison you’ll learn more about your current oral health and how dental crowns can help fix areas of your smile that you’d like changed. Together, you’ll create a treatment plan that will work towards improving your smile’s appearance, as well as your overall health.
You can schedule your consultation at Millennium Dental by calling our Plano office or filling out this quick online form.
