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What are they made of? How long will a crown last?

Occasionally we will use all gold crowns, but more commonly they are made with a gold substructure with porcelain fused to the top. Occasionally we will use special types of all porcelain crowns, such as Empress.

www.getempress.com

The life of a crown will depend on how well it is looked after. The crown itself cannot decay, but decay can start where the edge of the crown joins the tooth. It is important to keep this area as clean as your other teeth or decay may occur which could endanger the crown. Properly cared for crowns will last for many years.

How long does treatment take?

At least two visits are needed, the first for the preparation, impression and shade taking and fitting the temporary crown, and the second to fit the permanent crown. Sometimes we may want to shape temporary crowns and adjust them to find the perfect shape for your teeth. This will entail extra visits.  We may take photographs of your teeth to help the technician with the colour or we may sometimes arrange for you to see the technician to help to get the colour and shape just right.

What are veneers?

Veneers are like false fingernails, made out of porcelain, that are stuck to the front of teeth. A ¾ veneer is more destructive of the tooth and will involve more preparation, and these can be used where we want to change the position of a tooth slightly.

Why are they needed?

Veneers are used for correcting slightly discoloured teeth, or for very slight malpositioning. Crowns are also used for discolouration, but also to protect badly broken or heavily filled teeth.

I’ve heard about lumineers. What are those?

Lumineers are a very thin type of veneer that can be stuck onto teeth without preparing them like a regular crown. They are only appropriate in a small number of cases.

www.lumineers.com

Does it hurt?

No. These procedures are completed under local anaesthetic

What does a crown involve?

Two or three visits are usually necessary, sometimes including a visit to the technician. At the preparation visit, temporary crowns are made to tide the patient over for the two weeks until the crown is completed.

The crown should look like your old teeth (or better!). We have three different standards of crown. Our basic standard are good quality strong teeth that perform well. The deluxe teeth are more natural, but cost about 20% more. Empress crowns are perhaps a further 20% again.

Are there any contra-indications?

The support of the tooth must be sufficient to hold the crown. Sometimes we may need to use an additional piece called a post, which fits into the root of a tooth to support the crown, if the tooth is in very bad condition. It may be necessary to root fill a tooth if the nerve is damaged.

Special points of interest:

• Crowns can improve the appearance of your natural teeth

• Veneers can improve colour and shape, but they are simply stuck onto the front of teeth

• A crown may be the only way to successfully restore badly damaged teeth