If you have a tooth that has lost functionality, is discolored, cracked, or needs to be protected for any reasons, porcelain crowns could be just what you need to get back on the right track and take care of the problem.
These applications, sometimes called caps, are often used by dentists in both general practice and cosmetic dentistry to solve problems in their patients.
A versatile applications, the caps come in a variety of materials.
Porcelain, however, has proven to have several advantages over gold or ceramic.
Here are three of the benefits you may find in choosing to go with this material.
A Natural Appearance Even if you're getting caps for practical reasons, most people want a material that is going to blend well with their existing teeth.
Unless you're opting for gold, in which case you want attention drawn to the tooth, you probably don't want anyone to notice that you've had anything done.
Porcelain crowns are ideal for this purpose, as they have been designed to match as closely as possible your natural enamel.
No other material gives you that particular benefit as well as this one does.
Restoration of Function In many cases, a patient will need or want a cap not for cosmetic reasons, but because damage to their tooth has made it painful to eat or, in some cases, even talk.
This sometimes happens when a tooth has been cracked due to an injury or worn through time.
In this instance, porcelain crowns give the user back their natural functionality, taking away the sensitivity and pain that comes along with an unprotected damaged tooth.
While there are other ways to handle tooth sensitivity, protection, and cosmetic modeling, few methods accomplish all three with such a significant degree of success.
Natural Feel If you've ever had something placed in or on your teeth (dentures are a good example), you know how unnatural it can feel.
For many, dentures and other dental solutions have been an impossibility because they can't get past the discomfort of having something like that in their mouth at all times.
Some even reject braces for that reason.
For these people, porcelain crowns often work where other solutions have failed.
The applications are developed to be as thin as possible, creating as little disruption in the natural flow of your gumline as possible.
While there is a period in any new application where the patient must get used to something different, the adjustment period for these caps is probably smaller than most.