Your teeth do a lot for you. They help you bite, chew, speak clearly, and make your smile look great. If one of your teeth is damaged or missing, it can affect your overall dental health and your confidence.
At Advanced Dental Associates, we offer dental crowns to fix damaged teeth. Dental crowns are a type of restorative treatment we provide in San Antonio. These crowns consist of ceramic or porcelain and can repair stained, chipped, cracked, worn, or weak teeth. They can also cap off dental implants.
What is a Porcelain Crown?
A porcelain crown is a fake tooth made from high-quality porcelain. It is placed over a natural tooth or a dental implant to restore its shape and function. Porcelain crowns are durable and help protect the underlying tooth from further damage. They also keep your bite healthy after a dentist repairs a damaged or decayed tooth.
We make custom porcelain crowns in a dental lab. Alternatively, we can create same-day crowns using CEREC technology, allowing us to place them in your mouth on the same day as your visit.
Dental Crowns in San Antonio, TX
A porcelain crown is a great choice if you want a tooth that looks natural and is strong. Here’s why a dental crown from our office could be perfect for you:
- Looks Natural: Porcelain crowns match the color and shine of your natural teeth. They cover the visible part of the tooth, making it look like a real tooth.
- Custom Color: We can tint the porcelain to match the exact color of your tooth. This makes porcelain crowns a popular choice for fixing front teeth.
- No Allergies: Porcelain is safe for most people because it doesn’t cause allergic reactions.
- Stain-Resistant: Porcelain doesn’t easily pick up stains, so your crown will stay bright and shiny for a long time.
- Low Maintenance: Porcelain crowns don’t need special care, but you should still keep up with good oral hygiene. Plaque and gum disease can still affect the treated tooth and gums.
In the end, dental crowns are useful for many restorative and cosmetic dental issues.
Fixing Cosmetic Issues
Sometimes, teeth get discolored from various causes. While teeth whitening can help, it doesn’t always work on deep stains or trauma. In these cases, dental crowns can help. We can match the crown’s color to your natural teeth, hiding any discoloration.
Crowns can also fix misshapen teeth, which can affect how you chew and speak. Misshapen teeth can make eating and talking difficult. Dental crowns can restore the tooth’s shape so it works properly, helping you chew food and more easily form words.
Strengthening Your Natural Teeth
Dentists often use crowns to stabilize a tooth after a root canal. A root canal removes the infected part of the tooth and fills it with a safe material. But sometimes, the tooth doesn’t work as well as it should. A crown helps restore full function and protects the tooth from further infection.
A dental bridge replaces several missing teeth in a row but needs support. The natural teeth on either side of the gap support the bridge. This can put a lot of stress on those teeth, making them wear out faster and more prone to decay. By placing a crown on these supporting teeth, we reduce the stress and help protect them.
Treating Decayed and Damaged Teeth
A crown is often used as a last effort to save teeth that are badly damaged or decayed. We want to keep as much of your natural tooth as possible to prevent problems like jawbone loss. A crown can hold together broken pieces of a tooth or replace missing tooth parts.
A small chip in a tooth might not be a big deal, but a larger break can be more serious. It can expose the nerves to bacteria and lead to infection. It can also leave sharp edges that hurt your mouth. A crown helps complete the tooth and protects your mouth from these issues.
Limitations of a Porcelain Crown
Porcelain crowns also have a few limitations. Some drawbacks include:
- Putting too much pressure on the crown can chip or fracture it. Don’t chew on ice or hard things using your crown.
- If you use a crown to restore a damaged tooth, we may shave off some healthy enamel to accommodate the crown. This makes the process irreversible, and you must protect your tooth.
- Porcelain crowns are more expensive than some other types, like porcelain-fused-to-metal or base-metal crowns.
We also offer dental veneers, teeth whitening, and other cosmetic treatments! Ask about these during your visit. Ask about these during your visit. Call us at 210-361-6847 to make an appointment and find out which treatment is best for you.