The occurrence of damage to your teeth can impact your mouth’s function as well as your ability to chew your food. You could fracture a tooth as a result of a strong blow to the face, though most instances of tooth fracture are caused by grinding your teeth during sleep, chewing on pencils and pens, or playing a contact sport without wearing a sports mouth guard. A minor fracture may be repaired with a dental filling. If you have a badly fractured tooth, our dentists may recommend that you have the entire enamel layer replaced with a custom-made dental crown.
In order to restore your tooth with a dental crown, Drs. Maus and Tong will thoroughly inspect the tooth to assess the integrity of the internal structure before forming an abutment by removing the tooth enamel layer to form a small sheath around the inner tooth structures. This abutment will be used to keep your permanent dental crown in place.
We will then send an impression of the abutment and any nearby teeth in your bite to a dental lab so that they can easily craft your new crown in the appropriate shape and size. Finally, we can place a temporary crown over the abutment while the final result is in progress.
A member of our dental team will welcome you back to our dental office for a brief second appointment to receive your permanent crown, which is placed after the temporary crown is removed. As long as you take proper care of your dental crown and clean it regularly along with your smile, it can benefit your smile for many years.
To learn more about the benefits of a dental crown in San Francisco, California, contact Melissa Maus & Associates at 415-781-0819 and schedule a consultation with our dentists.