Crowns – Advice for Dental Patients in the Largo, FL, Area

Crowns are generally recommended when a tooth requires a very large filling or has undergone root canal therapy. In addition to strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can improve its appearance, shape, and alignment. Crowns made of porcelain bonded to a metal shell are often used because they are both strong and cosmetically pleasing. If you’re interested in learning more about crowns or any other type of dental device or treatment, you can turn with confidence to the dentists at Florida Dental Centers near Largo, Florida. We are proud to offer area patients a full range of oral health care within our single, multi-specialty practice.

If you are in need of one or more dental crowns, your dentist at Florida Dental Centers in the Largo, FL, area, will fully review your options, answer your questions, and explain the procedure. In general, here is what you can expect:

• During your initial appointment, your tooth and the surrounding mouth tissues will be numbed with a local anesthetic.
• Crowns require impressions of both the upper and lower dental arches, which are used to create a model of the teeth.
• Using a shade guide for crowns, your dentist will determine the exact color of your tooth.
• In order for a finished crown to fit properly, the tooth core must to be reduced to accommodate the crown. Your dentist will prepare your tooth by removing precise amounts of both tooth and filling material.
• Crowns also require accurate impressions of the prepared teeth. After inserting an impression tray over the tooth, your dentist will ask you to bite down until the impression material is fully set (approximately three to five minutes).
• To protect the prepared tooth and keep it from shifting while your permanent crown is being fabricated (crowns usually require about two weeks), your dentist will shape a temporary cap and affix it with light cement.
• When your permanent crown is ready, you will return to the dental office so that it can be placed. Your dentist will remove the temporary crown and any residual cement, then completely dry the tooth. After checking the fit of the permanent crown, your dentist will use dental floss to ensure that there is ideal contact between the crown and the adjacent teeth.
• When your dentist is satisfied with the fit, your crown will be permanently cemented onto the prepared tooth.

For further information on how you can enhance your smile with one or more crowns, contact Florida Dental Centers today. Since 1981, we have been proudly providing patients throughout the Largo, FL, community with comprehensive dentistry to meet all of their oral health care needs.