What is a Porcelain Crown?
If you have a tooth that is quite damaged or weak, your dentist may suggest a porcelain crown. They are essentially a dental restorative cover that is placed over the damaged tooth, serving the dual purpose of protecting the tooth and giving a more aesthetic appearance to your smile.When you have work done on your teeth, you want it to look beautiful and natural. In years past that was hard to do with a crown. In order to make a porcelain crown strong enough to hold up under chewing pressures, it had to be fused to a metal foundation. The metal, of course, makes the crown opaque, where your natural teeth are translucent.Another common problem with porcelain fused to metal crowns is the dark line that develops at the gumline. Though dentists try to hide it, it will eventually become visible. No matter how beautiful your smile its, this black line will be what people notice. New bonding technology has now made it possible to do all porcelain crowns, so you no longer have to worry about the issues that come when you fuse them to a metal foundation.Who Should Place An All-Porcelain Crown?
Many general dentists will suggest a porcelain fused to metal crown because the skills needed to do all-porcelain crowns are more demanding and may not have been not taught in dental school. If the dentin bonding isn’t done correctly, your crown could break. You may also suffer severe tooth sensitivity. To avoid these problems it is best to have a qualified cosmetic dentist to place your crowns.
Before Boston Porcelain Crowns
After Boston Porcelain Crowns
Advantages and Disadvantages of Porcelain Crowns
- They can match the color and translucency of your natural teeth when done by a qualified cosmetic dentist
- You will not have to worry about an unsightly black line at your gumline
- They are more expensive than other types of crowns
- They are not quite as strong as porcelain fused to metal crowns. While some of the newer ceramics are quite strong, there may be some situations on very back teeth where the added strength of porcelain fused to metal may be desirable. Because they are your furthest back teeth, the aesthetics will not be as important.
