Tucson Porcelain Crowns
A porcelain crown completely covers your tooth and is a reproduction of a real tooth. Crowns are needed if:
- Your tooth is too damaged to repair with a filling
- After a root canal treatment to prevent a fracture of the tooth
- On dental implants to complete the replacement of your missing tooth
- They’re also suitable for purely aesthetic fixes
As a prosthodontist, Dr. Steinberg specializes in rehabilitating smiles with crowns and bridges.
A series of connected crowns form a dental bridge. If you’re missing a tooth, it can be replaced with either a dental implant or a bridge.
To restore extensive damage or correct aesthetic problems in every tooth, Dr. Steinberg can use a combination of crowns, implants, and/or bridges for a full-mouth reconstruction.
Next-Generation Porcelain Crowns
Not too long ago, porcelain crowns weren’t very strong and required a metal foundation. However, new high-tech ceramics are very strong. Dr. Steinberg uses these new ceramics. For crowns he prefers e.max and zirconia.
e.max crowns have an ultra-strong pressed lithium disilicate core. The core is veneered with porcelain for improved aesthetics and offers lifelike translucency and reflectivity, making it ideal for restoring teeth in the front of your mouth.
Zirconia crowns offer unparalleled strength, making them excellent for the back of the mouth, where bite forces are the toughest. This material is so strong it is called ceramic steel. For that reason, it’s a good choice for people who grind their teeth.
Metal Crowns
Gold crowns offer an unmatched precision fit. They last longer than any ceramic crown and never chip. Dr. Steinberg sometimes recommends gold crowns to restore second molars, as they are so far back in your mouth they can’t be seen.
A porcelain fused to metal (PFM) crown is comprised of a metal core coated with porcelain. One drawback of PFM crowns is that they leave a thin black line where they meet the gum. You won’t see it at first, but it will become more visible over time as your gum recedes. It’s possible to minimize the line with a margin of porcelain.
PFM crowns must be opaque to hide their metal interior. But healthy, natural teeth aren’t opaque—they are slightly translucent, so light passes through them. They also reflect light. These subtleties make the difference between a natural and a fake-looking smile. That said, PFM crowns can be appropriate for certain situations, such as precision attachments to hold a removable partial denture. They work well as long they’re not in your smile zone, where their slightly artificial appearance would be noticeable.
Caring for Crowns and Bridges
To maintain your porcelain crowns, it’s important you:
- Avoid biting on hard objects or using your teeth to open things
- Brush and floss at least twice a day
- Come in for regular dental cleanings
If you’d like to learn more about how porcelain or ceramic crowns can give you a natural, attractive smile, please call our office at (520)-886-3030. We can schedule you for a complimentary initial consultation with Dr. Steinberg. If you’d like us to call you, please fill out this form.
