Porcelain-fused-to-metal Crown

What are dental crowns?

Over time, your teeth can get damaged. This can happen for a variety of reasons, like tooth decay, injuries or just use over time. Your teeth can lose their shape or size. Dental crowns are tooth-shaped “caps” that can be placed over your tooth. Think of it like a snug hat for your tooth. The crown restores the tooth’s shape, size, strength and appearance.

The dental crown is cemented into place on your tooth and it covers the visible portion of the tooth.

Why would I need a dental crown?

You may need a dental crown for several reasons, including:

Protecting a weak tooth (possibly from decay) from breaking or to keep the weak tooth together if parts of it are cracked.

Restoring a broken tooth or a severely worn down tooth.

Covering and supporting a tooth with a large filling and not much tooth remaining.

Holding a dental bridge in place.

Covering misshapen or severely discolored teeth.

Covering a dental implant.

Covering a tooth that’s been treated with a root canal.

What is a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown?

A PFM crown has much of the aesthetic appeal of all-ceramic, but with heightened durability. The interior of the crown – the part which encompasses the original tooth – contains a small metal thimble, which is then covered by a visually pleasing porcelain exterior.

With the base being made of metal, you can generally enjoy more structural integrity and a decreased risk of fracture. Meanwhile, the porcelain cover keeps the tooth looking natural and attractive.

That said, PFM crowns may not always look as convincing as all-ceramic. Some people may find they can see the metal thimble through the porcelain, or around the edges of the tooth. If your gums recede, it's possible the metal will create dark lines around your tooth.

Porcelain Fused-to-Metal Crowns (PFM)

Porcelain fused-to-metal (PFM) crowns are another widely used type of dental crowns. They provide both strength (due to their metal structure) and aesthetics (due to the porcelain coat that covers the cap).

Types-of-Dental-Crowns-porcelain-fused-to-metalThe main ADVANTAGES of PFM crowns are:

They provide  durability

They’ve been around for over 50 years. We know they work well.

They are less costly than all porcelain crowns

However, the DISADVANTAGES of PFMs include:

The metal in these crowns may cause a grey line at the gumline. This may not give the 100% aesthetic look that all porcelain crowns provide.

For people who clench their teeth, this type of crown may wear down more easily against the opposing teeth.

How is my tooth prepared for a dental crown?

You will typically have two visits to the dentist to prepare for a dental crown. In some cases, you may have a dental crown made in your dentist’s office.

The first visit

During the first visit, the tooth that’s going to receive the crown is examined and prepared. X-rays are taken of the tooth and the bone around it. Your dentist might have to do a root canal treatment before your dental crown procedure if there’s any:

Tooth decay.

Risk of infection.

Injury to the tooth’s pulp.

Pulp is the soft tissue inside your teeth that contains blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue.

The tooth that’s receiving the crown will be filed down across the top and sides. This will make space for the crown itself. The amount of tooth that gets filed away depends on the type of crown you have. All-metal dental crowns are thinner and don’t need as much of the tooth removed as all-porcelain or porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. If too much of your tooth is missing — due to damage or decay — a filling material can be used to “build up” enough tooth structure for the crown to cover.

After reshaping the tooth, a paste or putty is used to make a copy (also called a impression) of the tooth that’s going to receive the crown. Impressions of the teeth above and below the tooth that’s getting the dental crown will also be made. This is done to make sure that the crown will not affect your bite.

The impressions are sent to a dental laboratory. The laboratory makes the crowns and usually returns them to the dentist’s office in two to three weeks. During this first office visit, your dentist will make a temporary crown to cover and protect the prepared tooth while you’re waiting on the permanent crown.

Thanks to their experience, dentist at Side Dental Clinic will help you have metal-ceramic crowns.

The second visit

At the second visit, the permanent crown is placed on your tooth. First, the temporary crown is removed and the fit and color of the permanent crown is checked. If everything is okay, a local anesthetic (“numbing” drug) is sometimes used to numb the tooth and the new crown is permanently cemented in place.

Same-day dental crowns

Dental crowns can also be made in a dentist’s office if your dentist has the equipment. This process starts off similarly to the traditional way a crown is made — the first steps are to remove decay and shape the tooth for a perfect fit inside the crown. After these steps, the actual making of the crown is different. In the same-day procedure, a scanning device (a “wand”) is used to take digital pictures of the tooth inside your mouth. The computer’s software creates a 3D model of the tooth from these pictures. The digital design is then sent to another in-office machine that carves the shape of the crown out of a block of ceramic. This method of making a dental crown is called computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM). In less than 15 minutes, the crown is ready to be cemented into place.