Full coverage dental crowns are a tooth-colored and shaped cap that goes over the entirety of your tooth, including a little below the gumline. They cover the top and sides and provide a good seal to keep out bacteria. Crowns are versatile enough to fix many smile woes, and they’re permanent.
Spokane’s best cosmetic dentists, doctors Ken and Marnie Collins, prefer to use full coverage dental crowns to fix your teeth because they’re the best option. Other dentists may recommend lesser treatments, but dental crowns are the way to go when you want beauty, function, and complete protection.
There are other options to repair your tooth. Dental implants are your best option when you’re missing your tooth, or we can’t save it. But when we can save your tooth, or you’re looking for cosmetic enhancements, there are a few options available.
Dental Inlays – A Restoration For A Cavity
Inlays are similar to a filling, but they typically cover more and are more durable. They’re made in a lab, specifically for your tooth, whereas a filling is a composite material that molds to the shape of filling you need.
When your tooth needs more attention than a filling can provide, we prefer a full crown. It’s the most durable option and is better at keeping bacteria out of your damaged tooth. For this reason, we don’t offer inlays.
Dental Onlays – Wrap Around The Cusps of Your Teeth
Onlays are more like a dental crown, but they only cover the biting surface of your tooth and spill over the edge to just cover the cusps (the raised points on the top of your tooth). Dentists use onlays when your tooth has suffered a lot of damage and wouldn’t hold up under the outward pressures of a filling. They fill the space from the damage and hold the tooth together by covering part of the edges. Onlays are made in a lab of ceramic or other materials such as gold.
While an onlay can correct more damage than an inlay, we still prefer a full coverage dental crown. You’ll get better protection and an evenly colored tooth because the entire thing is covered. We don’t offer onlays because we know there is a better option.
Porcelain Dental Veneers – Wafer Thin, Custom-Made Shells of Tooth-Colored Material
Dental veneers or porcelain veneers are thin sheets of ceramic that cover only the front of your tooth. They’re versatile and can correct several cosmetic issues like crookedness, discoloration, small teeth, and small chips. Dental veneers are made in a lab from a composite material. You’ll have an evenly colored tooth and a smile that looks as good as new from the front.
But we still prefer full coverage dental crowns. Behind your veneers, your teeth aren’t protected, and in the case of crooked teeth, it’s easy to get food caught and hard to get it out. We offer porcelain veneers for purely cosmetic reasons because they do not repair your tooth when it’s damaged and hurting. We can help you decide between a full coverage dental crown and porcelain veneers during an initial consultation. We’ll look at the condition of your teeth, level of damage, and your budget.
Benefits of Full Coverage Dental Crowns
Full coverage dental crowns offer many benefits that go beyond tooth repair.
Save Severely Damaged Teeth
If we can save your tooth, a dental crown is the best option. It is the last stop before we need to extract it. Your Spokane dentist will assess the damage and do everything we can to save your tooth.
With a dental crown, you’ll regain full use of your tooth without pain and no extra hassle to take care of it. You take care of it just as you would your natural teeth—brush, floss, and visit your dentist in Spokane twice a year.
Fix Crooked and Small Teeth
Like veneers, dental crowns can also fix cosmetic problems, such as crooked and small teeth. We can completely reshape the tooth and put a straight crown over them. Your teeth will look, feel, and function just like normal without feeling or looking bulky.
The benefit to choosing a dental crown for cosmetic reasons over a veneer is that you won’t have to deal with the imperfections behind the restoration. You won’t worry about food or bacteria festering behind your tooth because the back of a crown is smooth.
Repair Chipped or Cracked Teeth, Protect Them From Further Damage
Do you have chips or cracks? Dental crowns can help! They’ll provide the ultimate protection against food particles and bacteria and save your surrounding teeth and tongue from damage. When you have a chipped tooth, it’s much easier to cut your tongue. Teeth work best when lined up straight; they’re stronger that way. So when you have a crack, your other teeth are at a higher risk for chipping. A dental crown restores your tooth to its original shape so it can protect the teeth around it.
Cracks in your teeth can be a tricky thing. It’s hard to know if they’ll continue to crack. That’s why we recommend dental crowns over veneers for cracks. You’ll be protected all the way around.
Cover Discolored Teeth
Full coverage dental crowns can cover your discolored teeth, teeth that have thin enamel, and teeth that have naturally dark enamel. You’ll receive an even-colored tooth that is your desired color of white.
Get Full Coverage Dental Crowns in Spokane
Spokane’s leading cosmetic dentists, Dr. Ken and Marnie Collins, offer full coverage dental crowns to repair, protect, and beautify your smile. Choose full coverage dental crowns today and call (509) 532-1111 or make an appointment online.
