Here’s when your smile might benefit from getting a dental crown.
A dental crown is a restoration that our Joliet, IL, dentists Dr. Lanette Disera and Dr. Christine Dunham place over a weak, decayed or damaged tooth. By simply examining your smile, our dentist team can determine whether you could benefit from this dental cap. If you are interested in learning more about dental crowns, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s what you should know about these tooth-shaped caps,
Protect Damaged Teeth
One of the main reasons to place a dental crown is to cover a broken, fractured or cracked tooth. This is the best way to repair a tooth, as it covers the entire crown to protect it from further damage while also restoring functionality back into the tooth. The sooner a crown is placed over a damaged tooth the better.
Replace Large, Worn Fillings
If you’ve had a large filling placed to restore a cavity, chances are that this restoration will cause fracturing or weakening of the tooth over the years. To prevent this from happening, our Joliet, IL, general dentists may recommend replacing the old, large filling with a dental crown. A crown will be able to better support what’s left of the tooth’s natural structure in a way that a filling just can’t.
Cover a Dental Implant
If you have decided to replace your missing tooth with a dental implant, we will need to create a custom dental crown to place on top of the implant. The implant itself is a small metal post that is placed into the jawbone. This part isn’t visible when you smile; however, we will need to cement a dental crown over the implant to complete the restoration.
Hold a Dental Bridge in Place
If you’ve decided to get a dental bridge to fill the gap in your smile with natural-looking false teeth, then you’ll also rely on crowns to anchor the dental bridge into place. A bridge contains one or more false teeth that are fixed in place by dental crowns that are cemented over natural teeth to support this common tooth replacement.
Hide Discolorations and Imperfections
Crowns aren’t just for restoring a tooth, it can also be used to improve the tooth’s appearance. After all, a damaged tooth may also be severely discolored or misshapen and our Joliet, IL, family dentist can craft a custom crown that is the ideal color, shape and size you need to improve your smile.
Our dentists here in Joliet, IL, have been helping patients achieve healthier smiles through dental crowns and other types of restorative dentistry. If you are looking for the right dentist to meet your needs, call us today at (815) 744-4333 to schedule your next visit.