Porcelain Teeth

All Porcelain Crowns

• Today all porcelain crowns are considered the most beautiful crown that a tooth can get.

• Porcelain is a kind of ceramic built by firing and stacking and ceramic refers to porcelain only.

• Pure porcelain is the only crown which gives the desired translucent look to the tooth. The major drawback in using all porcelain crowns for restoring the front tooth is that the expertise required to place them is very challenging but still are placed there for their aesthetic appeal.

• They are translucent in color and generally, their color is influenced by the tooth under them.

Types of all ceramic/full porcelain crowns

• There are various types of these crowns and they are mentioned here.

• - Feldspathic porcelain is the most traditional type that is used and is most beautiful.

• - Empress crown looks like that of a glass and can be called ceramic.

• - Procera crown has milled ceramic inside and traditional porcelain on outside. This crown is used because of its extraordinary strength. It can be cemented with the help of an ordinary bridge cement and crown.

• - Lava crown has a translucent Zirconia on the inside which is shaded and finally looks beautiful on the outside due to its baked layer.

• - Zirconia crowns look natural and do not reveal a black line like other crowns at the gum line.

• - Emax crowns are getting more and more popular nowadays.

• These crowns are best suitable for people who are allergic to metals.

• Our natural tooth is translucent in color and these crowns are the only ones with such translucency. A major problem with these crowns is that they are not as strong as PFM crowns.

Advantages of these crowns

• - Transparent and true to nature and aesthetically appealing

• - No allergic reactions and highly biocompatible and reduced sensitivity

• - Alignment and form correction is possible

• - Ideally suitable for patients who have reduced space inside their mouth and are looking for that natural looking tooth

Disadvantages of these crowns

• - Preparation time might be very high and complicated

• - Comparatively expensive

• - Less durable than other types and vulnerable to breaking and cracking

The procedure for the fitting of these crowns is similar to that of any other crown:

• The tooth to be treated is cleaned, reshaped, and thus prepared for treatment.

• The tooth is also a little tapered so that the crown can snugly fit on top of the concerned tooth.

• With the help of dental putty, an impression of the tooth is taken.

• The mould is then sent to the laboratory for fabrication of the new crown. In the meantime, the patient gets a temporary crown fitted on the tooth. A period of two to three weeks is required for the crown to be prepared.

• Then the patients tooth is fitted with the new crown. For this, the dentist roughs up the surface of the affected tooth with the help of etching acid which enables the crown to hold on to the tooth.

• After the desired fitting is obtained, the crown is firmly fixed with the help of dental cement. Care must be taken to avoid grinding, biting into hard foodstuffs and clenching.