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Dental Crowns Restore Your Smile

Crowns are durable shields placed over a damaged tooth to protect it. Made to look like a normal tooth, crowns restore tooth function and improve your smile.

Same-Day Single Visit Dental Crowns

This video illustrates how a crown, custom-made by CAD/CAM 3-D technology, restores a damaged tooth in a single visit, often referred to as same-day dentistry.

At Forest North Dental, we care about your time and health. In the past, restoring a tooth with a crown was a tedious procedure requiring more than one visit to the dentist. Today, our dentists provide Lake Bluff residents access to the latest crown-making technology with CEREC. CEREC uses strong, tooth-colored porcelain to create each crown or bridge. The best part, crowns, bridges, and veneers can be crafted in our office in as little as 90 minutes, saving you time at the dentist!

Permanent Crowns Look Like Natural Teeth

If you have a broken, decayed, misshapen, or discolored tooth, or a tooth that requires a root canal, a dental crown is a long-lasting, natural-looking treatment option that can restore your tooth’s function and appearance, along with your self-confidence.

Learn More About Crowns in Lake Bluff

A dental crown is a tooth-shaped “cap” that covers a tooth to restore its shape and strength and improve its appearance. A crown fully encases the entire visible portion of a tooth above and at the gum line and protects the tooth during use. There are several types of crowns, though the most common have a porcelain exterior to match the appearance of natural teeth.

Types of dental crowns include:

  • Stainless steel crowns are used on permanent teeth primarily as a temporary measure. The crown protects the tooth, while a permanent crown is made from another material. Stainless steel crowns are commonly used on children’s primary teeth because they don’t require multiple dental visits to put in place, they’re more cost-effective than custom-made crowns, and they’re durable. When the primary tooth comes out to make room for the permanent tooth, the crown naturally comes out. 
  • Metals used in crowns include alloys with a high content of gold or platinum or base-metal alloys. Metal crowns withstand biting and chewing forces well, rarely chip or break, and often last the longest in terms of wear. The metallic color — and the high price of gold — are the main drawbacks. 
  • Porcelain fused to metal dental crowns can be color-matched to your adjacent teeth and offer good strength and durability, though the crown’s porcelain portion can chip or break if subjected to chewing of hard foods or dental trauma. Next to all-porcelain crowns, porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns look the most like natural teeth. However, the metal underlying the crown’s porcelain can sometimes show through as a dark line, especially at the gum line, and even more so if your gums recede. 
  • All-resin dental crowns are less expensive than other crown types, though they look less like natural teeth than porcelain-exterior crowns. All-resin crowns also wear down over time and are more prone to fractures than other crown types. 
  • All-porcelain or all-ceramic dental crowns provide a better natural color match than any other crown type and may be more suitable for people with metal allergies, though they aren’t as strong and durable as porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns.

Your dentist may recommend a crown to:

  • Restore a broken or severely worn-down tooth
  • Cover and support a tooth with a large filling when there isn’t a lot of tooth left
  • Protect a tooth that’s been weakened by decay
  • Cover a misshapen or severely discolored tooth
  • Hold a dental bridge in place
  • Cover a dental implant

Pros and cons of crowns compared to veneers:

  • Crowns are used to restore function as well as aesthetics
  • Crowns provide stronger protection to the tooth than veneers
  • Crowns require the removal of more natural tooth than veneers

Our office provides advanced technology to support same-day dentistry and provides crowns in one single visit through CEREC® technology.

With a same-day crown, you can anticipate a swift, streamlined, and efficient dental experience. The process typically begins with a digital impression of your tooth, eliminating the need for messy traditional molds. Using advanced CAD/CAM technology, your dentist will design a customized crown tailored to fit seamlessly with your natural teeth. Once the design is finalized, the milling machine in the office will craft the restoration from high-quality dental materials. This innovative approach allows you to bypass the inconvenience of multiple appointments and temporary crowns, as the final restoration is fabricated and placed on the same day. The entire procedure is designed for your comfort and convenience, ensuring you leave the dental office with a durable, aesthetically pleasing crown that restores both function and appearance.

CEREC® stands for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. This same-day dental technology helps dentists streamline making a crown, restoring a patient’s smile in a single visit.

CEREC® utilizes computer-aided design, also known as CAD-CAM technology, to scan your teeth using a 3D camera. The image data is then sent to an in-office machine in our dental service that mills the crown from a ceramic block. The milling process can take only a few minutes, after which your dentist can place it.

This same-day service makes getting a crown easier than ever!

When properly cared for, a dental crown can last up to 15 years. Crowns can be taken care of by regular brushing and flossing. The tooth beneath the crown is still susceptible to decay if you don’t maintain good oral hygiene — if the tooth beneath a crown decays, the crown must be removed so the tooth can be treated.

Some habits, such as grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw, can significantly shorten the life of a crown. Ask your dentist about treating these behaviors. Hard or brittle foods can also damage the crown and should be avoided.

Contact Us Today

If you have a dental condition that may require a crown, contact us today to book an appointment. Your dentist can examine your teeth and review your options for restoring them to optimal oral health, including same-day crowns.

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