Family Dentistry: Dental Crowns

Dental Crowns

A dental crown is a cap-like restoration used to cover a damaged tooth. Crowns can give support to misshapen or badly broken teeth and permanently replace missing teeth to complete a smile or improve a bite pattern. They may be molded from metal, ceramic, plastics, or combinations of all three. They are cemented in place and coated to make them more natural looking. Historically, a variety of materials have been used as tooth replacements. The ancient Egyptians used animal teeth and pieces of bone as primitive replacement materials. More recently, artificial teeth have been fabricated from substances such as ivory, porcelain, and even platinum. With modern technology, high quality tooth replacements can be made from synthetic plastic resins, ceramic composites, and lightweight metal alloys.