Dr. Igor Lozada offers ceramic crowns, porcelain fused to metal crowns, and gold crowns, as well as acrylic temporary crowns. He also is skilled with implant ceramic crowns and implant porcelain fused to metal crowns.
A crown (often called a cap) covers the tooth and restores it to its original shape and size. Decay is removed and cleaned from the tooth and a highly accurate impression or mold is made of the prepared surface. This mold is used to create a model of the tooth which is then sent to a special laboratory that will create a gold or porcelain (tooth colored) crown. The crown is then cemented onto the prepared surface of the tooth.
Crowns are incredibly strong due to the fact that they are created in a laboratory. This protects and strengthens the remaining tooth structure. In the hands of a skilled dentist, a crown will fit almost perfectly onto the prepared surface of the tooth, reducing the size of the seam between the crown and the tooth. This helps keep decay from eventually occurring under the crown.
Crowns should be placed before the tooth is so decayed that it may fracture. This can often help prevent the expense of root canal therapy in the future. It can also prevent the possibility that a fractured tooth may need to be removed, requiring the expense of a bridge or implant to replace the missing tooth.
Implant Supported Crowns are another procedure used to replace missing teeth. The implant consists of a titanium material screw and a crown. The screw is implanted into the jaw making connection with the living bone. After a period of healing the crown is then attached. This procedure is stronger and more durable than the use of the crown previously described.
A temporary crown is a provisional, short term restoration. The temporary material is shaped by the dentist to form a tooth shape that protects the prepared tooth, prevents damage to the gums and disguises the prepared tooth to a degree until the final, definitive restoration can be made.