Composite vs. Amalgam Fillings
If you need to have a cavity filled, you may be wondering what the best materials option is. Dentistry has evolved over the years and
Dental Crowns
Crowns can be used to repair a wide range of decayed, damaged or cracked teeth. They improve appearance, strengthen the tooth and protect it against further damage. Crowns also are used as part of other dental restoration work, like bridges, dentures and root canals. With good care, crowns can last a patient for many years in a way that looks & feels natural.
Dental Crowns in Santa Rosa
Crowns Beautifully Restore a Tooth.
Dental crowns are used to restore a tooth to its original size, shape and function after damage or decay, preventing further damage or shifting.
Digital Scanning Offers a Perfect Fit
Our office uses the best technology and dental labs to ensure your crown is a perfect fit that functions and feels great with the rest of your teeth.
Durable and Long-Lasting
With proper care like regular dental appointments, brushing and flossing, crowns are extremely durable and long-lasting.
Why Crowns?
Dental crowns are a useful restorative dentistry tool to protect a weak tooth, repair a broken tooth, cracked tooth or damaged tooth by decay or injury. They’re also sometimes called a dental cap, because they wrap around the top of a tooth, making it stronger and securing it from further damage.
Patients might need a dental crown for a variety of reasons, including:
- to repair a severely damaged tooth that cannot be filled
- to improve the appearance of damaged teeth
- to hold a dental bridge in place
- to restore a worn-down or broken tooth
- to cover a dental implant
- to cover and support a tooth with a large restoration where there isn’t a lot of tooth structure left
- to protect a tooth after a root canal therapy procedure
Crowns are one solution to these problems, but not the only one. Dr. McCormick will consult with you about your individual situation and help you decide on the best solution for your dental needs.
How we make dental crowns:
Crowns can be made from a variety of materials, like metal alloys, zirconia, porcelain fused to metal (pfm crown), porcelain fused to zirconia, and all-ceramic crown. Each offers different strengths. For instance, all-metal or porcelain and a metal crown are stronger, and are better for back teeth which often use the most force when biting and chewing. An all-ceramic crown or a porcelain crown are good choices for front teeth, because they can be customized to the exact same color as your natural teeth and blend in unnoticeably.
For any type of crown, we begin by taking a careful mold of the tooth in need of the crown, called an impression. We then send the mold to an excellent area dental lab we have been partnering with for many years. During this time, we will place a temporary crown to protect the prepared tooth. Shortly after, the permanent crown will arrive at our office and we can place it on the affected tooth.
The procedure of getting a crown is straightforward. After the damaged tooth has been carefully prepared, your dentist will simply place the tooth like covering over your natural tooth. The dental cap will then support the remaining tooth structure and provide a cover to protect the natural tooth from cavities, tooth decay, or further damage.
Caring for crowns
Dental crowns can last for many years. Maintaining good oral hygiene is important to help your dental crown last as long as possible. Our staff will instruct you on the best way to care for your crown. It’s important that you are involved in every part of the process of getting a crown, so that you are well-informed about your dental work and how to take care of it properly.
About Dr. Andrew McCormick:
Dr. Andrew T. McCormick is a native Californian originally from Monterey County. He graduated from U.S.C. school of dentistry and subsequently opened his practice in Santa Rosa, finding Sonoma County to be an ideal place to locate.
Learning more about the connection between dentistry, medicine, and medications and environmental toxins is of particular interest to Dr. McCormick because he sees the effects of these on his patients. Because of this, he has sought out non-traditional and progressive educations. Some of these groups have recently been the American Academy of Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH) and the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT).
One of Dr. McCormick’s interests is involvement in the community. He was an early participant in Leadership Santa Rosa and now he sits on the board for PDI, a dental clinic in Windsor for underprivileged children. In January 2010, he became an accredited member of AACD, one of 350 dentists worldwide, after extensive work to raise his level of expertise in cosmetic and rehabilitative dentistry. Click here to read more about Dr. McCormick.
Voted Best Dentist in Santa Rosa
by Readers of Bohemian
Magazine
1 of 350 Dentists Worldwide
Accredited with the American
Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
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