Why a Dental Crown is like a bespoke piece of Jewellery

You use your teeth 24 hours day, 365 days a year.

Your dental fillings and crowns need to withstand not only the mechanical forces of chewing and tooth grinding but also the chemical insult form what you eat. How long would  a pair of heels or shoes last if they were worn 24 hours a day while walking though different terrains. It is actually amazing that modern filling and crown materials last as long as they do.

Some people may think that the dentist just puts his or her hand into a jar and picks out a crown. This couldn’t be further form the truth. Each crown is customised to the individual person and to the individual tooth. Each crown is unique.  It is like a piece of bespoke jewellery.

One of our dentists here at Burneston Dental shapes the tooth to be crowned thereby creating a preparation with the exact angles, shape and dimensions that are needed. Each type of crown will need different dimensions.

Once the tooth has been prepared, an impression is taken of it in a material that will not distort. This impression is then sent to the laboratory. A custom-made temporary crown will then be made by the dentist and is fitted to the patients tooth. This will ensure that the tooth is covered and will restore the appearance of the it.

At the laboratory models are poured from the impressions. The models are mounted on an articulator which mimics the movements of the human mouth. The crown will then be hand built by the skilled dental technician. Not only does the technician create the natural shape of the tooth, ensure the correct fit, the right height, but also will create its appearance with the help of different colours and tints so that it blends in with the other teeth and becomes “invisible”. Each persons teeth look different. The technician is like an artist creating a sculpture of your tooth. Once the dental technician has gone through numerous stages of creating your custom made crown it then gets carefully packaged and sent back to the dentist.

The dentist then tries in your crown and checks the dimensions, the fit, the bite, the contacts and the appearance. Only when the dentist  and you are happy with all these parameters will he/she fit your custom made crown.

That is why a crown is like a piece of bespoke jewellery for the mouth.

Contact us today so that you too can enjoy good dental health!