Maybe your dentist recommended that you get a dental crown. Or maybe you’ve been down an internet rabbit hole and think you may need a dental crown. In either case, you might be searching for more information about what the process is actually like before you jump into getting the restorative treatment. Well, the Overland Family Dental team is happy to provide you with the answers you’re looking for! In this blog post, we wrote up a general overview of the dental crowns process, which can be broken up into two phases:
Your First Visit
Granted that you’ve already been examined by a dentist and consulted on the procedure, your first visit will involve the preparation of your tooth. What this means is that we need to shape your tooth by filing it down a specified amount so that when your dental crown is placed there, it’ll fit snugly. We don’t want it to feel unnatural or bulky, and we definitely don’t want it to negatively affect your bite (the way your upper and lower teeth fit together).
After your tooth is prepared, we take an impression of it to use for creating your actual crown. Each crown is custom-made for the specific tooth of that specific patient, and this impression ensures a good fit.
The last step at this initial visit is to fit you with a temporary crown. This temporary crown protects your prepared tooth until your permanent crown arrives from the dental lab. You won’t live with this crown forever, but it will do the job until your next visit.
Your Second Visit
Once we’ve received your custom dental crown from our partner dental lab, we’ll call you back in for its placement. This second phase of the dental crowns process usually occurs a couple of weeks after the first phase. When you come in for this visit, we first remove the temporary crown you’ve been wearing. Then we place your permanent one.
Before sending you on your way, we’ll make sure that the crown fits well and that everything is okay with your bite. If something is slightly off, we’ll make the necessary adjustments. We want you to be completely satisfied with your new dental crown!
Crowns at Overland Park Family Dental
And that’s the jist of the dental crowns process! If you have any lingering questions, don’t hesitate to ask us by calling our Overland Park office or sending us a message online. As providers of dental crowns, we’re also happy to provide you with a dental crown if you ever find that you might need one.