A dental crown can restore the form, function, and beauty of a damaged tooth. Each restoration is customized for the tooth that it will protect. But just how do dentists prepare a tooth so it fits well beneath a crown? This blog post walks you through what you can expect during the treatment process.

Modifying Your Tooth

Very often, teeth must be modified so they fit well beneath a crown. This helps to ensure that the final restoration will work well with your bite and last you for many years.

Before preparing your tooth, your dental team will use a numbing agent so you feel little to nothing while your tooth is being worked on. You might notice some pressure throughout your appointment, but overall, you can expect a relatively comfortable process.

To make sure your tooth is ready for your crown, your dentist might need to:

• Remove decayed and damaged tissues.
• Remove a bit of enamel so the tooth will not be too large to fit beneath your restoration.
• Build up the tooth with an inert filling material.

The exact steps in the preparation process vary depending on each patient’s unique circumstances.

Taking Impressions

Once your tooth is ready to support a crown, your dental team will need to take some impressions of your mouth. In the past, dentists always had to use manual impression trays to accomplish this. In modern times, things are different. Many dentists have invested in digital impression technology, which provides a faster, more comfortable, and more accurate process overall.

The impressions will be used as the basis for designing a crown that is a perfect fit for your mouth.

Finishing the Crown Process

If your dentist is working with a third-party laboratory to create your crown, you might need to wear a temporary restoration for a couple of weeks while the technicians at the lab are doing their job. Once the crown is ready, your dentist will double-check to make sure it lives up to their standards before they attach it to your tooth.

If your dentist offers same-day crowns, you may not need a temporary crown. Rather, you might just need to wait for a couple of hours while CAD/CAM technology is used to fabricate your beautiful new restoration. Once your crown is in place, you can go off and start to enjoy its many benefits!

Meet the Practice

Drs. Minh-Phuong Bui and Kiana Fredette are proud to serve the Lakeville, MA, community. Under their leadership, our team offers same-day dental crowns and many other treatments. If you have questions about how we can help you enjoy optimum oral health, contact Southeastern Dental Care at 508-947-5717.