CAN A DENTAL CROWN FIX A CHIPPED OR BROKEN FRONT TOOTH?
Yes! Dental crowns may go over a chipped or broken tooth and cover the chip. For a front tooth, it is important that your crown matches the color of the surrounding teeth. Your Wichita Family Dental Ceramist will customize your crown to ensure it blends in naturally.
CROWNS FOR COSMETIC DENTISTRY
Tooth crowns are also used in cosmetic dentistry. They can change the size, shape, and color of your teeth. Crowns can close gaps, level out misshapen teeth, and correct discoloration. If you’re interested in changing the appearance of your smile, the process is simple:
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- Your Wichita Family Dental Ceramist will ask you what you want to change about your smile.
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- We will use the CEREC 3D camera to take pictures of your teeth.
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- Your Ceramist will design your crown(s) according to your specifications. They may suggest a wax up which is like a test drive of your new smile. It will ensure that your final results are exactly as you want them.
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- The CEREC milling unit will carve your crowns using two diamond-coated burs.
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- Your Ceramist will color and polish your crowns.
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- Your Wichita Family Dental Doctor will cement your crowns.
If you are interested in dental crowns for cosmetic dentistry, try our Free Virtual Consultation!
THE WICHITA FAMILY DENTAL DIFFERENCE – OUR IN-HOUSE DENTAL LAB
At Wichita Family Dental, your ceramist will create your crown without sending your case to a dental lab. Our on-site smile designer will image, design, and customize your crown in our Wichita dental office. You will speak directly to your ceramist, tell her exactly what you’re looking for, and get the results of your dreams in less time and with a smaller margin for error than offices that have to send cases out to dental labs.
CEREC SAME-DAY CROWNS AT WICHITA FAMILY DENTAL
Wichita Family Dental uses CEREC technology for the majority of our patient’s crowns. This allows us to restore your damaged teeth in a single visit at our offices in Wichita, KS.
NO IMPRESSIONS, NO TEMPORARIES
CEREC crowns require no messy impressions. Instead, the CEREC 3D camera scans the tooth in seconds and your Wichita Family Dental Ceramist will design and mill your crown in-office while you wait. Your tooth will be restored with no “temporary,” which means ONE visit.
WHAT IS CEREC?
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- Chairside: The technology is used while you are in the chair.
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- Economical: The procedure is economical for the patient.
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- Restorations: The procedure restores your tooth.
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- Esthetic: The crowns are metal-free and tooth-colored.
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- Ceramic: The crowns are made of high-grade ceramic material that is compatible with your natural tissue.
CEREC allows us to restore teeth and place crowns and veneers in just one appointment. Our Ceramist make your CEREC crown in-house so there is no need to wait for a lab to fabricate it and no need to wear a temporary crown. Instead, you will receive the highest quality, most natural crown in just hours so you can get on with your life. It will be customized to your surrounding teeth with a perfect fit.
HOW MUCH DOES A CROWN COST?
The cost will vary based on the type of material used.
WHAT MATERIALS ARE USED TO MAKE CROWNS?
Most crowns at Wichita Family Dental are made of porcelain. Porcelain crowns have more transparency which means that they mimic the clarity of natural teeth and are less likely to stand out or look fake. They are three times stronger than natural teeth which makes them more likely to last longer.
In some cases, your crown may be made of zirconia. This is a material that resembles porcelain, but it is five times stronger than your natural teeth, making it the perfect choice for people who have a really strong bite or who grind their teeth. It can also be appropriate for crowns that will anchor a bridge as it holds up well under pressure even when it is stretched out.
Your Wichita Family Dental Ceramist will choose the material most appropriate for your case.
WILL MY CROWN LOOK NATURAL?
Yes! Your Ceramist will use a shade guide to match your crown to the teeth on either side. They will also color and polish your crown to be nearly identical to your other teeth. Take a look at the image to the left. This is an example of a dental implant crown that was milled and colored to match the surrounding teeth perfectly so that no one will know it’s not your real tooth.
THE CEREC PROCESS
Your Wichita Family Dental CEREC tech will use a 3D camera to take a digital picture of your tooth. No need for traditional, messy impressions that can be uncomfortable and cause gagging. The digital impression is quick, clean, and painless. The CEREC software then converts the digital picture to a 3D model of your tooth and your CEREC tech will design your restoration within minutes.
Your CEREC tech will choose a ceramic block that closely matches the shade of your damaged tooth. It will be inserted into the CEREC milling unit, where two diamond-coated burs will carve the block into the correct shape. Your tech will color and polish your restoration so that it perfectly matches your surrounding teeth and your doctor will bond your ceramic restoration into place. Your same-day crown from Wichita Family Dental will be ready within hours.
HOW LONG DO DENTAL CROWNS LAST?
On average, crowns last between five and fifteen years.
MY CROWN CAME OFF. IS IT A DENTAL EMERGENCY?
In most cases, a crown coming off is not a dental emergency. Just the same, you’ll want to get it replaced as quickly as possible. You can call Wichita Family Dental during business hours or contact our after-hours emergency line. Remember, we are open six days a week for dental emergencies and can recement your crown on a Saturday if necessary. You can even book your appointment online.
