When one of your teeth has suffered extreme damage or decay, the use of a dental crown might be necessary. While these crowns can be invaluable in your efforts to reinforce and save the tooth, you may be lacking some essential information about this particular dental procedure.

Will Your Dental Crown Be Noticeable?

One of the concerns that patients will often have about their new dental crown will concern whether it will be discrete or not. Luckily, modern dental crowns are made of porcelain that is designed to mimic the look of natural enamel closely. As a result, most individuals will be unable to tell that you have a dental crown in place. This can be especially important for those that are needing to get a crown on a cosmetically important tooth. As part of the process of getting the crown, it will be colored to closely match the rest of your teeth, which can further reduce the visibility of the crown.

How Long Will It Take to Have Your Dental Crown Placed?

It is often assumed that the procedure for placing a dental crown will be extremely lengthy and painful. However, this process is actually completed in a fairly short amount of time. For many patients, the entire process of placing the crown will only take an hour or two. However, it should be noted that these crowns will usually need to be prepared by a dental laboratory. As a result, you may need to wait several days for your final crown to be ready. In instances where the damage to the tooth is too severe to leave uncovered, a temporary crown may be used to protect it until the final crown is ready.

What Is Needed to Care For And Maintain A Dental Crown?

While it might seem like a dental crown would be an inconvenience to maintain, these dental treatments actually require very little care to keep them in good condition. Typically, the only maintenance that will be needed on a frequent basis is brushing and flossing. The crown may not be able to decay, but potentially harmful bacteria can gather on the crown if it is not thoroughly cleaned. While crowns are designed to last for many years, they will eventually need to be replaced. During your regular checkup and cleaning visit, your dentist will be able to inspect the condition of the crown so that you will know when the time is coming when it needs to be replaced.

For more information, contact your local cosmetic dental services.