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The installation of a crown is necessary for a complete tooth prosthetics. Modern crowns are able to eliminate almost all possible defects, as they are fixed structures of a natural shape, identical to a healthy tooth or even better in terms of chewing properties. With the help of the latest advances in dentistry, crowns can eliminate even serious shortcomings of the dentition.
Indications for the installation of crowns
Patients who see their dentist regularly can learn about the need for a crown directly from the dentist long before the need arises. In other cases (with prolonged neglect of dental disease or injury), the dentist needs some time for an examination (visual examination, x-rays and other tests) to conclude that dental prosthetics are necessary.
The main reasons for installing crowns include:
Spread of a carious lesion to more than 50% of the dental tissues in the presence of a healthy, strong root for the establishment of a pin;
Sharp damage to the aesthetic appearance (for example, discoloration) of one or more teeth;
Rapidly progressive tooth decay due to non-carious disease;
Complete loss of a tooth due to gum and periodontal disease;
Pathological erasure of the enamel of one or more teeth;
Extraction of teeth adjacent to the damaged one to install a metal-ceramic bridge.
Preparation for prosthetics
For most people, any dental procedure is associated with characteristically unbearable toothache and the inconvenience of the dental office. But do not be afraid of installing prostheses, because the most unpleasant of the stages of this operation – turning the tooth – is much easier to bear than the standard cleaning of caries with a drill. Moreover, all operations are performed under local anesthesia with the most effective drugs.
Other stages of preparing teeth for prosthetics include cleaning plaque and removing tartar, as well as caries treatment. If the tooth on which the crown is placed is too damaged, it is restored before prosthetics.
To begin with, teeth, the treatment of which is recognized as meaningless, are removed. After two weeks, prosthetics continue with a complete antiseptic treatment of the oral cavity, filling of canals and carious cavities with constant monitoring using x-rays. If a pin is installed, the root of the tooth, unable to hold the prosthesis, is also subject to removal.
Sometimes the crown is installed on living teeth, i.e., the part of the tooth damaged by caries is sawn off and a prosthesis is placed on it. A lighter version of the procedure is possible for young people on teeth affected by a single focus of caries. (read also: what is caries?)
All decisions regarding the methods of protection and prosthetics of the teeth are made by the patient himself after consulting a dentist.
Types of dental crowns
To date, many varieties of crowns have been developed, therefore, in order to correctly distinguish them, there is a special classification according to several criteria.
By appointment are:
Restorative crowns, necessary for the maximum possible anatomical, functional and aesthetic restoration of a lost tooth.
Abutment crowns, which are the basis for the bridge prosthesis.
According to the material of the crown can be:
metal;
metal composite;
Metal-ceramic;
Ceramic;
porcelain;
Zirconium.
According to the design of the crown, they distinguish:
Complete – completely replaces the lost tooth.
Equator – are a metal strip that is tightened around the tooth to preserve its natural tissues in case of incomplete damage.
Stump – crowns recessed into the gum.
Semi-crowns – Replace all parts of the tooth, except for the inner (tongue-facing) side. Subsequently, they can serve as a support for a bridge or cantilever prosthesis.
Telescopic – special crowns, the height of which relative to the gums can be adjusted after the installation of the prosthesis.
Pin – used for installation on a titanium pin, replacing a too weak or damaged root with severe tooth decay.
Jacket, fenestrated and others.
Metal crowns
What are the best crowns for chewing teeth? Many experts offer metal structures, because they have a lot of advantages, and their cost is relatively low. This option can be made of various metals.
Metal crowns are a classic example of prosthetics and have been used for decades. The most common option is gold teeth.
The main advantages of such crowns are durability, reliability and strength. The elements are practically not subjected to the oxidation process, and their abrasion index is maximally correlated with natural enamel, so antagonist teeth are not damaged during chewing. There is only one drawback of such a design – an unaesthetic appearance, therefore, as a rule, it is installed in an area inaccessible to prying eyes.
All-metal crowns are cast and stamped. Stamped ones belong to an outdated type of construction, they are made on the basis of steel sleeves, which are coated in the color of gold. They look unattractive, unstable in comparison with cast structures. The advantages of these crowns are an affordable price and minimal damage to the tooth during the grinding required for their installation.
Solid crowns are made on the basis of a tooth, cast from metal, with their low cost they do not wear out the teeth and serve for a long time, although they are not aesthetic.
The significant disadvantages of these crowns include their unattractiveness – a tooth with a metal crown differs significantly in appearance from natural teeth, as well as low wear resistance due to thin walls. But, perhaps, their main negative property is an insufficiently tight fit to the surface of the tooth, which is why pathogenic bacteria can multiply under the crown, causing tooth decay.