Route To Dental Crown

A dental crown otherwise known as a tooth cap, is a natural coloured cap that is placed over the entire tooth, right to the gum line. It is durable, custom-made, and comes for both temporary and permanent use.

A dental crown is a great solution for those who want to preserve a damaged tooth and avoid tooth extraction. Crowns restore the functionality of a tooth that has suffered from trauma, decay, or gum disease and ensure the structural integrity of the tooth is maintained. Crowns are also effective at hiding unsightly teeth with a straight, white, and well-shaped cap. They are used for many reasons:

• If you have cracked, chipped, or broken tooth 
• Worn down tooth from grinding
• A tooth that needs filling
• If you have a missing tooth
• If you have had a root canal treatment

TYPES OF DENTAL CROWN(CAPS)

There several categories of dental crowns designed by keeping patient’s oral health, defects and damage of teeth, allergy issues, and knowing which is the right you need to talk to the oral surgeon or dentist about your preferences and other factors. 

• ALL CERAMIC/PORCELAIN CROWNS (CAPS)

All ceramic is an identical twin of actual teeth because it gives the same natural look. As it is 90-1005 made up of porcelain it shines brightly. It doesn’t have anything to do with changing temperature, it survives well and will keep you away from allergic reactions as it has zero metal in it. As front teeth are visible in your regular life while eating, smiling, and talking you should select this type because it is translucent. Biting needs molars and premolars so porcelain isn’t strong enough to tackle that force and eventually breaks so not a good choice for posterior/back teeth.

• ALL METAL CROWN (CAPS)

A huge benefit of the metal crown is it is very strong and can’t easily break. If you aren’t allergic to gold then just put your finger on this spontaneously. This is the best for molars and premolars as people chew and grind food. Also, dentists use very less filling in this. 

• PORCELAIN FILLED METAL CROWNS

Now the goes well with the saying, “Kill two birds with one stone.” Because it gives natural tooth appearance like porcelain and durability like metal crowns. Not too much and not too little medium quantity of tooth structure will be extracted while this procedure. 

• ONLAYS AND ¾ CROWN 

If a portion or a specific area of your tooth is damaged or needs a crown then a partial crown is also done. For patients with tough teeth, this might be the right choice. 

• ALL RESIN CROWN

This contains silicon dioxide in its possibility of wearing is there but it is less expensive than other discussed types, you may need more than 1 session for this and dentists to take out more than half of the tooth structure. 

• ZIRCONIA CROWN

It is unbreakable and a perfect match for large food biting people, also it doesn’t cause any kind of gingival inflammation but its appearance is artificial and is non-transparent/blurred. 

PROCEDURE OF DENTAL CROWN

The duration of dental crown treatment depends if the session is divided into 2-3 days then for each day dentist will take about 30-45 mins. The total time is 2-3 hours.

Multiple day procedure :

The dentist closely monitors makes the damaged tooth/teeth ready for the crown. The impression of the tooth along with the entire mouth will be taken after carving it properly. 

It will be passed to the laboratory for customization and may take 10 or more days. 

Then X-ray test will be conducted to check the cause with precision.

When the permanent crown is under the procedure, in the period of first and second visit dentists generally put a short-term or temporary crown, to prevent further harm.

Bottom, top, and sides will be cleaned for permanent crown fixing in the second visit, and removal of tooth structure depend on the type of crown typically, porcelain-based crowns are thick so need more trimming. If the patient has more decay or cavity that will be cleared in the second session. The accurate impression will be taken now. The triple tray is mainly used here for impression or some paste is applied. The dentist gives local anaesthesia to the adults and general to the kids during this procedure and cement is used because if the crown doesn’t fit while biting and when coming in contact with adjacent or opposing teeth if the crown becomes loose or wear then another session may require to fix it.

Same day procedure:

• In the same-day procedure, the dentist doesn’t send the impression to the lab for making the crown, because dentists themselves make a crown from the scratch after trimming and taking an impression.
• At this stage, the dentist may take some pictures of your tooth to cross-check the crown, nowadays dentists started using a wand ( handheld device to scan the teeth instantly).
• 3-4 hours are needed for this.

RECOVERY PERIOD OF DENTAL CROWN

• Recovery depends on the type of procedure. Usually, the pain will stay for a week along with swelling and redness. Ordinarily, this is seen after the permanent crown’s procedure becomes permanent crown and nerve path crosses each other.
• Intake of alcohol should be throttled back
• Avoid smoking
• A cold compress like ice packs works best
• Avoid eating hard foods and drinks
• AVoid chew foods
• Eat soft and drink cold/room temperature liquids 

COST OF DENTAL CROWN IN INDIA

If you are considering covering dental costs out-of-pocket for crown treatment, knowing the cost becomes essential. The cost of a dental crown in India varies depending upon the material used, dentist’s rates, city, the type of the tooth is being crowned, and insurance. 

Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Chennai have top-notch clinics. 

Porcelain Based crowns cost is around $600-$700 (US dollar)

Metal dental crowns cost –  around $500-$600

Ceramic crowns cost – around $650-$750

The cost isn’t daunting as Western countries so treatment in India will protect you from extra expenses down the road. Some of the hospitals in India also offer multiple payment plans. Standalone insurance plans have dedicated plans for dental crowns in India and companies like Baja Allianz, Bharti Axa, and HDFC or the worth it dental crown treatments you can check the below-mentioned links you will get to know about the skilled dentists and clinics.

• Dr Kitesh Jain
• Dr Shikha Giri
• Dr Nanda Kumar
• Dr Adosh Lall

FAQs:

1. How to choose the right dentist for a dental crown?

• He/she should have a good website
• He/she should be board-certified
• Long experience
• Postgraduate 
• On your first visit, when you ask about the past clients before and after pictures then he should have options to show you.

       2.What’s the shelf-life of a dental crown?

It depends on the type and care. Porcelain based remains intact for 5-8 years and metal-based/porcelain combined metal remains intact for 12-15 years. But how you look after it plays a prominent role.

      3. Which are not the good candidates for the dental crown(caps)?

• Cigarette/cigar addicts.
• Weak gums and teeth containing people
• Nail-biting and cap/wrappers/bottle opening with tooth and similar habits
• Do not follow good oral hygiene.

      4.Which procedure is good if you don’t want a crown?

Dental veneers and dental bonding are the best alternatives if the damage is not too intense.

      5.How to properly clean the crown area after the procedure?

Daily brushing 2-3 times is required, on top of that, you should floss your teeth at least one time a day. Make a habit of using mouthwash and rinse it properly. Use fluoride toothpaste. 

6.Is it better to have tooth crown extracted or get a dental crown?

Dental extractions are not usually recommended for the patients by the dentists as the very first option. It is usually kept as last resort. When no other treatment is delivering positive or expected results, then extraction is necessary but if crowns are the right fit for you then just go with it only.

      7. What to do if a tooth hurts after crown?

Visit a dentist he/she may prescribe you some pain killers if still pain continues then he/she will give you three options:

• Crown replacement
• Tooth removal
• Root canal

8.Why do some people have a black line along the edge of their crown?

Good question!  The dark line at the edge, or margin, of a crown, is likely the border of a metal substructure showing.  This is possible for porcelain fused to metal crowns.  The blackish-grey line can be avoided if the dentist requests a different design from the dental laboratory.   Although not often the case, stain from dark beverages could also be the cause.  Decay can also lead to discolouration, however, it is usually not black.  

      9. Silver crowns are made up of what kind of materials?

Silver crowns are made up of stainless steel and are very low in price, excellent option for children. It also contains iron, nickel and cobalt.