A crown is a laboratory made restoration that covers all or the majority of an exposed tooth. Crowns provide additional strength to teeth and are often the best way to save teeth. In addition they can also be used to alter the shape, or colour or orientation of teeth.

Structure of crowns and bridges

A crown can be made of metal [usually gold], porcelain or porcelain veneered to the metal. Today there also new cutting edge technologies allowing us to fabricate crowns in “white gold” made from materials such as Alumina and Zirconium. These materials are similar to porcelain in appearance but are significantly stronger. Gold alloys are used for their strength, hardness and durability and are still very often recommended for use on especially 2nd molar teeth which generally have little aesthetic value but need to withstand the most extreme grinding an crushing forces.

All porcelain restorations are strong and can be made to match the shade of the surrounding natural teeth. The smooth surface of the porcelain makes it resistant to staining. The superior aesthetics and improved strength of the modern day ceramics make all porcelain crowns the natural choice for front teeth crowns in most circumstances.

Technique for crowns and bridges

Once the tooth is appropriately shaped an impression is made. This impression is sent to the dental laboratory where the technician will make a model that is an exact replica of the tooth in the mouth. It is on this model that the technician will fabricate the new crown. During the period of manufacture you will have a temporary crown fitted to the tooth. At the fitting appointment the temporary crown is removed and the after checking for accuracy of fit, colour and relationship to the adjacent and opposing teeth, the permanent crown is glued or bonded into place.

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How is Same day Crowns achieved?

It’s incredible how technology has permeated so many aspects of our lives, to such an extent that we now expect everything to be faster, better and more efficient than ever before. Dentistry is keeping pace with this expectation, by creating state-of-the-art equipment that can provide beautiful new smiles in just a fraction of the time that was required before.

CAD/CAM technology is the most exciting innovation to ever come to our practice. The acronym stands for: computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing. We are proud to provide this new technology’s benefits to our patients through the E4D Dentist™ system.

The E4D Dentist™ system uses the latest technology and clinically proven materials to restore teeth – place crowns, for example – from start to a beautiful finish in only one day, often in one visit, instead of the two dental appointments usually necessary.

Using the E4D, we can first scan the prepared tooth in your mouth or from an impression, virtually design the final restoration with CAD/CAM technology and then send the information wirelessly to our in-office milling station. The restoration is milled to the exact specifications in minutes. Once the restoration is created, we then place it in your mouth, adjust, characterise with colour, and finally polish your restoration to a beautiful luster.