Dental Crowns – North Dallas, TX
Repair, Strengthen, & Protect Your Smile
At Coco Dental, we do everything we can to keep our patients’ teeth healthy and intact. However, whether you crack a tooth while playing sports or have a cavity that’s gotten too large, sometimes life just happens. Thankfully, we can repair, strengthen, and protect your smile with beautiful, custom-made dental crowns in North Dallas! Read on to learn more about this reliable restoration and how it can improve your life for years to come.
What Is a Dental Crown?
Sometimes called a cap, a dental crown essentially fits over the top of a tooth. This holds the tooth together and strengthens it so it can function normally. A crown also helps protect the tooth from future damage or decay, which can make all the difference between saving a tooth and needing to have it extracted in some cases. Plus, since they encapsulate the entire visible portion of a tooth, dental crowns can also be used to improve the appearance of teeth as well!
The Process of Getting a Dental Crown
It will typically take two appointments to repair a tooth with a dental crown. Once we’ve determined that a dental crown is the best choice for you, we’ll need to alter the tooth by removing a thin layer of enamel. This will make room for the crown so it fits in with the rest of your teeth seamlessly. We’ll then take impressions of the area and send that information off to a local dental laboratory. While your permanent crown is being fabricated with the help of those impressions, we’ll fit you with a temporary crown to keep your tooth comfortable and safe. In about two weeks, you’ll return to our office. We’ll replace your temporary restoration with your beautiful permanent crown and bond it into place. Once we’ve made sure that your bite is comfortable and that you’re pleased with the results, you’ll be ready to go out and enjoy your newly repaired smile.
Benefits of Repairing Teeth with a Dental Crown
Dental crowns are among our most common treatments, and its easy to see why. This restoration offers a variety of important benefits, like:
- Lifelike appearance that looks just like a natural tooth
- Ability to cosmetically enhance a tooth
- Strength to chew with confidence and without pain
- Protection from further damage, decay, or infection
- A relatively quick treatment with long-lasting results
- Potential to prevent the need for extraction and tooth replacement later in life
- Typically covered by dental insurance
If you think your smile may benefit from a dental crown, don’t hesitate to give us a call today!
Understanding the Cost of Dental Crowns
Dental crowns offer an incredible amount of versatility as a treatment, which is part of what makes them so effective. However, this also means that there’s a lot about these restorations that can vary between patients, and accordingly, there can be quite a diversity in the price of your care.
We’ll be able to give you a detailed estimate when we finally meet you in person, but here’s what you should know until then about the cost of a dental crown.
Factors that Affect the Cost of Dental Crowns
While you can’t know precisely what your dental crown is going to cost until you get your estimate, there are a few standards you may want to keep in mind if you’re budgeting for care. For one, it’s common to need some preliminary treatments before you actually get your restoration, like a root canal. You should factor the cost of these procedures into the overall price of your dental care.
Then there’s the price of the crown itself. Depending on the material your restoration is made from and the tooth it’s covering, this can vary a little bit. We’ll walk you through each of these decisions when we meet you in person.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Crowns?
Dental crowns tend to fall well within the realm of what insurance companies are willing to cover. Depending on the nature of your plan you can typically expect to have around 50% of the cost of a dental crown covered. However, it’s important that you consult with your dental plan in order to make sure that you’re getting all the coverage you can.
Other Options for Making Dental Crowns Affordable
Even if you don’t have insurance, you shouldn’t have to skimp out on your dental care. For that reason, we work to offer financial options to our patients even if they’re uninsured.
For one, we’re currently offering specials on exams for new patients, as well as for emergency exams. This means that you have very little to lose if you come to us with an issue regarding your smile.
We also frequently work with CareCredit, a financing firm that provides low-to-no interest terms to those patients who qualify. If you’re intimidated by the prospect of paying for your care all at once, this could be the perfect option for you. If you’re wondering how you can make your dental crown affordable, reach out to us for an appointment and we’ll talk to you about the financial options available to you.
Dental Crowns FAQs
Dental crowns are durable, natural-looking tooth restorations used to repair teeth that have too much damage for a regular filling. They can also restore teeth that require a root canal due to infection or damage. Though they do require the removal of tooth enamel, crowns preserve your natural teeth for longer than they might have survived with other treatments, making them an excellent solution for saving your smile. If you have any questions about dental crowns, keep reading below for answers to a few common queries. If you don’t see yours listed here, please reach out to Dr. Patel for more information.
Are Dental Crowns Permanent?
Although they are not technically considered permanent, dental crowns are a long-term restoration that can last up to 15 years. Because Dr. Patel must reshape your natural tooth for your new crown, this procedure is irreversible, as enamel cannot grow back. Thus, your tooth will always need to be protected with a crown going forward.
Thankfully, your dental crown will protect your underling tooth from additional damage, so it should still survive longer than it would have without treatment.
You can maximize the longevity of your crown by practicing excellent oral hygiene, attending your regular cleaning and exam appointments, and wearing a nightguard or mouthguard if necessary.
Do Dental Crowns Get Cavities?
While your dental crown itself cannot get cavities because it is made of synthetic materials, the underlying tooth still can. Believe it or not, a crowned tooth has approximately the same risk of developing decay as an untreated tooth.
This can occur when poor oral hygiene allows bacteria and plaque to form around the gumline and where the tooth meets the crown, damaging the underlying tooth. This can be prevented by excellent oral hygiene practices, including daily brushing and flossing, regular dental check-ups, and eating a low sugar diet.
Does It Hurt to Get a Dental Crown?
Getting a dental crown should not hurt, because Dr. Patel will numb your tooth before beginning the treatment just as he would with a regular filling.
For this treatment, your tooth is numbed during the preparation phase, but not necessarily for the final crown placement. A typical crown takes two appointments: one to reshape your tooth and take impressions, and a second to attach your new, completed crown.
Following the reshaping procedure and potentially the placement of the crown, your tooth may feel sensitive for the next few days, especially if you have had a root canal. You can take OTC pain relievers during this time, however if the pain worsens, call Dr. Patel as soon as possible.
Remember, dental crowns protect your tooth from future damage, so they may prevent future pain if you take care of them properly.
Can Dental Crowns Be Whitened?
Unfortunately, no, your dental crown cannot be whitened like your natural teeth can. That’s because your tooth’s enamel has tiny pores through which bleaching gels can enter and break up tough stains. Crowns do not have these pores, and thus cannot be lightened.
Because metal-free crowns are meant to blend in with your natural teeth, speak to Dr. Patel about getting a professional whitening treatment prior to your new crown so that your entire smile matches.
Once your crown is in place, you can reduce your risk of stains and discoloration by brushing and flossing daily, visiting Dr. Patel regularly for your exam and cleaning appointments, and by avoiding staining foods and beverages like cola, coffee, and red wine.