Tooth Crown , Teeth Crown

Philadelphia, Main Line, and Ardmore, Pennsylvania Cosmetic Dentistry

A tooth crown is designed to fit over a natural tooth and provide it with a new set of surfaces. Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist, Dr. Marshall offers state-of-the-art technology and the best materials available to make your crown sturdy and durable.

Advantages of All-Porcelain Tooth Crowns

Because of the potential threat to your general health posed by metals in your mouth, Dr. Marshall chooses to operate a metal-free, mercury-free dental office, and therefore uses only the safest ceramic materials for restorations. Dental porcelain is metal-free, durable, and visually pleasing in a smile precisely because it does not look like porcelain. It looks like a natural tooth.

Some porcelain crowns have a metal lining and are referred to as porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crowns. Dr. Marshall does not offer that type of crown, but uses all-porcelain crowns which have a zirconia lining. A lining is important for adding strength to the crown and zirconia is a relatively new way of creating all-porcelain restorations – bridges as well as dental crowns.

Zirconia is biocompatible and has been successfully used by physicians in hip replacements. For cosmetic dentistry, it provides the density needed in a crown lining without being so thick as to reduce translucency, as a metal lining does.

Another advantage of all-porcelain crowns is that they do not develop a dark gray streak at the gumline over time. As we age, the gum tissue slowly shrinks, exposing the lower edge of a metal lining where previously gum tissue was covering it. Of course, all-porcelain crowns cannot prevent the natural processes of aging, but when the gums recede a little, the exposed crown lining is white and not noticeable.

When a Tooth Crown Becomes Necessary

Teeth crowns are usually applied because they can preserve the tooth. Decay, or sometimes an accident or injury, may have damaged the tooth so much that it cannot survive without protection.

In some cases, crowns are used to rejuvenate a worn tooth – perhaps worn from the tooth grinding and jaw clenching that goes with Temporomandibular Joint Disorder – or to replace deeply discolored surfaces. Sometimes crowns can preserve a fractured tooth and prevent it from breaking. When a dental bridge is done, crowns are usually placed on the two nearby teeth to support the bridge.

If you have any missing teeth, the best way to replace them is with dental implants. The implant itself is an artificial tooth root in the jawbone and it anchors the replacement tooth, which is a porcelain crown.

Find out about Single Visit Crowns.

For more information, please see Questions About Your Dental Crowns.

If you have any concern about the stability or strength of your existing tooth restorations, please contact our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania cosmetic dentistry practice for a personal teeth crown consultation with Dr. Marshall. Proudly serving Philadelphia, Main Line, and Ardmore patients.

602 The Times Building
Suburban Square
Ardmore, PA 19003
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