A crown is a dental restoration that completely covers a tooth. It is used to cover and protect a tooth that has a healthy root but is damaged or weakened on the surface. Crowns may be used for broken teeth, a tooth with an old filling, a tooth damaged by cavities, or a tooth that has a problem that leaves it vulnerable to cracking. Kalamazoo cosmetic dentist Dr. Michael Sharp can use crowns as a key tool in dramatically improving the look of your smile.

For front teeth, the standard that has been promoted for years is the porcelain fused to metal crown. While this type of crown looks okay, people can often tell that it isn't real. The metal foundation makes the crown strong, but it also causes it to be opaque. It can also eventually develop a dark line near the gumline.

Having a Porcelain Crown Placed

Having a porcelain crown placed generally requires two appointments. First you will be given a thorough exam to make sure that your teeth are healthy. Next, the tooth is prepared by having any decay removed. The shape of the tooth is refined and an impression of your teeth is made. You will also be given a temporary crown by Sharp Smile Center to protect the tooth.

Once your new porcelain crown is ready it will be permanently cemented. With proper home care and regular professional follow-up, it should last you many years.

Transforming Your Smile with a Porcelain Crown

Because Kalamazoo dentist Dr. Sharp expects only the best for his patients, he uses only a highly skilled and artistic ceramist to create your crown. The porcelain materials used will look absolutely natural and give you a beautiful, strong, long-lasting smile with complete restoration of function. Because they look so natural, all-porcelain crowns are a particularly good choice for front teeth. It can be impossible to tell them from natural teeth.

Choices in Porcelain Crowns

• Many dentists still place porcelain fused to metal crowns on front teeth. These often look opaque and fake, and will tend to show a dark line at the gumline - if not at first, then after several years, as the gums recede. Dr. Sharp, however, believes that your crown should look as natural as possible. He will carefully match the color, shape, translucency, and surface texture of your crown to your other natural teeth so that it will look perfectly natural.

However, porcelain fused to metal crowns are stronger. For this reason, we may recommend that type of crown for molars, where there can be very strong chewing forces, and where the esthetics aren't that important.