Along with being physically fit, having a bright and beautiful smile is all the rage in today's society. As little as ten years ago, creating a beautiful smile for someone who was not blessed with perfectly straight, white teeth meant you had to endure wearing big and bulky metal braces for two or three years. Now people are opting for dental crowns to make that smile beautiful.



A dental crown is a tooth-shaped cover that is placed over a tooth that is missing, decayed or damaged beyond repair. That is the reason many people prefer to call it a cap.



There are many reasons why people need dental crown work done. One is stated in the definition above; missing, damaged or decayed. When the tooth gets to that point, a dental filling will not suffice because it will not make the tooth strong enough to maintain its position. Dental crowns can also be used to hold a bridge in place or hold parts of a cracked together. Before you get your dental crown work done there are several preparations you must go through.

Sometimes before you can get your dental crown work done, you may need to get a root canal. The root canal will usually be recommended for teeth with a lot of decay. Teeth that are decaying have a high risk of infection or injury to the tooth's pulp.
Your dentist may or may not have to build a supporting foundation for the dental crown. Foundations are built in cases where either the tooth is very decayed, badly damaged or missing. If the foundation is being placed right after a route canal, the dentist will insert what is called a post-and-core-foundation. Here is how the whole process takes place.

The dental crown work begins with the dentist filing your teeth down to make room for the crown. The dentist will then use to a small piece of thread to push down the gum line around the tooth. A rubber-like material is then used to make a copy (sometimes known as an impression) of the tooth. The material must sit for at least five minutes. To ensure that the crown will fit properly, the dentist will make an impression both above and below the tooth.