Dental Crowns An Overview
Lee, Bonfiglio, Vesely & Associates, has been named one of the Top Dentists in Annapolis. We offer a full range of general and cosmetic dentistry services. Our dentists provide several treatment options for dental crowns. They can be used for a number of reasons including:
Our cosmetic dentists can also use dental crowns to replace old, worn and unsightly restorations like metal fillings or metal caps.
Types of Dental Crowns
There are generally three types of dental crowns – those made of gold, all-ceramic and ceramic-veneered gold crowns. In our Annapolis dental office, we often recommend tooth colored crowns, those that are all-ceramic or metal-ceramic crowns for the most aesthetic restorations.
All gold tooth crowns or metal-ceramic crowns are usually used on teeth in the back of the mouth where the forces from chewing and grinding are most prevalent.
Crowns made of gold: Gold crowns are used when appearance is not a priority to you. The gold is extremely workable, making gold crowns a more precise fit than any other type. While a slight possibility of chipping exists with porcelain crowns, gold crowns provide no such problem.
Types of porcelain materials: There are basically two types of porcelain used in dental caps and crowns, these are feldspathic and pressed ceramic porcelains. The feldspathic type is the original method that has been around for 20 years. A ceramist in a dental lab bakes porcelain onto thin high noble alloy shell and then heats it in an oven.
The ceramist is able to create tints and opaques inside the porcelain of the dental cap or crown to give the natural look we seek. Pressed ceramic is created from a single ingot. The ingot is melted and pressed in one piece to create the desired shape of the cap or crown. The stains and opaques are applied only to the surface of the porcelain to give a natural look for your new smile.
My experience at Dr.'s Lee, Bonfiglio, Vesely & Assoc. has always been exemplary. My family and I have been patients here for over 20 years and have always been treated like family. The staff and doctors provide a warm and comfortable environment and even my kids love going to the dentist.Shannon J., Annapolis
I would highly recommend Dr.'s Lee, Bonfiglio, Vesely, & Associates to anyone looking for a great dental office! The personalized service and professionalism has made every visit enjoyable and comfortable. If you’re in the Annapolis area and looking for a great dental practice, look no further and make an appointment.Michael W Annapolis
I have been a patient at Dr's Lee, Bonfiglio, Vesely & Associates for 3 years and I would highly recommend this practice! Along with the beautiful, modern, spotless office, the environment is always calming with TV's in every room to help you relax. Everyone is friendly, professional, and they want to make sure you are comfortable at all times.Theresa B., Annapolis
All the staff are very friendly and very helpful. I like the cleanliness and the spaciousness of the waiting room. The dentist and the hygienist are very good at communicating what procedures they were going to perform. I would recommend this dental practice to all of my friends and family.Tim S., Annapolis
Dental Crowns What to Expect
The new reinforced resin or bonded all-porcelain type of cap has the nicest appearance in cosmetic dentistry. This cap can be made from pure ceramic or a new reinforced composite resin. It is almost indistinguishable from natural teeth. The new bonding technology involved provides an exceptional bond your tooth. It is metal-free, and thus satisfies the needs of patients with metal sensitivities.
When correcting your back teeth with bonding, the cosmetic dentist will perform a tooth colored onlay. This type of procedure is used to correct only the parts of your tooth that are in need. This procedure is metal-free.
For a very natural appearance, porcelain fused to metal crowns are the answer for you. However, they have a metal substructure and require an opaque below the porcelain, which can make the translucency of natural teeth difficult to match. Sometimes a darker line will be visible at the edge of the cap, near to your gum when your gum recedes with age.
In our Annapolis dental office, we provide Empress, Lava and Procera all-ceramic crown systems, as well as computer-aided all-ceramic designed crowns. Feldspathic porcelain is the standard, traditional porcelain that is used for crowns. Many cosmetic dentists feel that this is the most beautiful porcelain.
Empress, strictly speaking, is not a porcelain, but more like a glass. Empress can be called a ceramic material. The Empress material is cast rather than baked as a feldspathic porcelain crown is. The fit of Empress is more precise than the baked feldspathic porcelain. However, the color in Empress is mostly baked on the outside. Empress can be very beautiful. For appearance’s sake, some expert cosmetic dentists prefer the feldspathic porcelain, and some prefer the Empress.
Lava Zirconia is a milled ceramic on the inside with a more traditional porcelain baked onto the outside. The advantage of Lava is its exceptional strength. However, the milled ceramic core is opaque white, so many cosmetic dentists feel that it isn’t as natural-looking as the more translucent materials. An advantage of Lava is that it doesn’t have to be bonded to the tooth but can be cemented with ordinary crown and bridge cement, a technique familiar to all dentists.
Procera is similar to Lava, but the milled ceramic on the inside is a more translucent alumina, rather than an opaque white material. The alumina is shaded, and then the final esthetics of the crown are achieved in the baked-on outer layer. The procera crown can also be cemented with traditional techniques. However, any crown cemented with a traditional crown and bridge cement is going to be susceptible to a compromise in the appearance if that cement line ever shows.