Depending on the condition of your mouth at any one time, your dentist performs several different types of procedures. Although teeth cleanings, cavity fillings and bondings comprise some of the routine sessions, more involved procedures are now common and easy to complete. In addition to root canals and wisdom tooth extractions, dental crowns are often needed as well, and come in more than one form. Before differentiating between the different types of dental crowns, consider the functions they serve.

Dental Crowns

A dental crown (also referred to as a cap) is a fixed prosthetic object that is cemented onto a tooth. Only a dentist can remove it once it’s in place. The main purpose of a crown is to cover a damaged tooth, but it also strengthens it, improving its overall appearance and alignment in the mouth.

Crowns are made by taking an impression of the tooth or teeth they’ll be covering. Before this impression is created, your dentist must first reduce your tooth’s size so that the crown fits properly. Your dentist may also place a temporary crown while the permanent one is being made.

Types of Dental Crowns

There are four different types of dental crowns.

Ceramic Crown

These are used for restoring front teeth, and are popular in this area for their ability to blend with your natural tooth color. The crown is made of a porcelain-based material.

Metal Porcelain Crown

This crown provides a stronger bond than regular porcelain because it is connected to a metal structure. It’s also extremely durable.

Zirconium Crown

Zirconia is a metal classified as a member of the titanium family and is mined around the world. It is found in dinnerware and electrical fixtures among other products. It’s known for its durability, making it an ideal product to use in dental crowns, especially posterior crowns that require a lot of strength for chewing and grinding food, notes a study published by The Open Dentistry Journal.

The metal has become popular as a crown material, since it is supplied to dental offices in the form of a block, which is then milled by a computerized cutting machine (CAD CAM) into the shape of a tooth. Then, once it is fitted, it is cemented in the patient’s mouth. Since that whole process can be accomplished in one dental appointment, it has become widely used by dentists, since patients can have a crown shaped and cemented in much less time than the traditional porcelain crown, which may take a few weeks to manufacture, and requires a cementation visit in addition to the initial visit.

source: Steve Auger & Richard A Huot, DDS