When you need to protect a tooth, a dental crown covers that tooth with a protective restoration that looks, feels, and functions just like the rest of your teeth. Whether you need a crown after filling a large cavity, following a root canal, or due to another tooth issue, it’s an ideal way to protect your long-term oral health.
Dr. Scott Evans specializes in crowns, and he can customize your crown to look just like your surrounding teeth. Once it’s in place, no one should be able to tell that it’s there.
If you’re getting a dental crown at our office in the University Park area of Dallas, Texas, you might be wondering what to expect. Here, we take a detailed look at the process.
A crown, sometimes called a cap, goes over the tooth that needs protection. Dr. Evans tailors your crown to fit the full tooth well, matching up with your gum line and protecting the tooth under the crown from further damage.
To get the crown to fit precisely, he first needs to prepare the tooth that’s getting the crown — and that means carefully removing a small amount of your enamel. This allows Dr. Evans to place the crown and have it sit flush with your surrounding teeth so you don’t even feel it’s there.
Once your tooth is prepared, we take an impression of it. We send that impression to a lab to fabricate your custom crown so it fits comfortably in your mouth. We also color-match the crown to your teeth.
You leave your first appointment with a temporary crown that protects the prepared tooth while the lab makes your permanent crown.
Once your custom crown is ready, you come back to our office. At this second appointment, Dr. Evans removes the temporary crown and then bonds your new custom dental crown permanently in place over the prepared tooth. Before we send you home, we make sure that it feels comfortable in your mouth, including your bite, and that it looks good.
We also give you some tips on caring for the crown. Generally, that means practicing good oral hygiene and avoiding chewing hard and sticky foods in the part of your mouth that has the crown.
You don’t need to get a special toothbrush or different floss to take care of your crown. You keep it clean the same way you do your natural teeth. Brushing and flossing daily and visiting us twice a year for a dental checkup and cleaning go a long way toward helping your crown last.
With good oral hygiene, your custom dental crown should last at least 15 years.
If you need a dental crown, Dr. Evans is here to help. To schedule an appointment, call our office at 214-337-5202 today.
