Oral Care Guide for Teens

A crown refers to the placement of an artificial crown on a tooth. It acts as a 'cap' that fits over the tooth which has been previously shaped and contoured.

Purpose


	To restore the original shape and function of teeth
	To improve the aesthetics of teeth, such as shape, size and colour
	To fix a bridge onto the teeth—a fixed bridge is supported by crowns on either / both side

Material


	Porcelain
	Gold alloy
	Properties
		Durable
		High wear resistance
		Gold alloy crown can be quite thin—only a small amount of tooth substance needs to be removed to accommodate it
	Disadvantage
		Metallic colour, poor aesthetics
	Application
	Used at high stress bearing area where good aesthetics is not a must. For example, posterior teeth
	Procedures for gold alloy crown
		A thin layer of tooth substance on all surfaces of the crown is removed.
		Impressions of the upper and lower teeth are taken and the bite registration is recorded. The prepared tooth is protected by a temporary crown.
		The gold alloy crown is fabricated in the dental laboratory.
		Temporary crown is removed and the tooth surface is cleaned.
		The crown is cemented onto the tooth.
	Porcelain fused to gold
	Properties
		Aesthetic—colour of outer surface is similar to natural tooth
		Strong and durable because of the gold alloy base
		Hard
	Disadvantage More tooth substance needs to be removed from the facial surface of the tooth.
	Application Used on anterior teeth
	Procedures for porcelain fused to gold crown
		A thin layer of the tooth is removed.
		Impressions of the upper and lower teeth are taken and the bite registration is recorded. The prepared tooth is protected by a temporary crown.
		The porcelain fused to gold crown is fabricated in the dental laboratory.
		The temporary crown is removed and the tooth surface is cleaned.
		The crown is cemented onto the tooth.
		The crown is cemented onto the tooth.
	Stainless steel
	Properties
		Stainless steel crown is not custom-made. It is preformed with several sizes.
		Since the crown is not custom-made, the procedures of fitting are simple and the time taken is relatively short.
	Disadvantage
		Silvery colour, unaesthetic
		Non-stress bearing, not lasting
		Since the crown margin is not closely adapted to the tooth, the margin is prone to accumulation of dental plaque which causes dental caries and periodontal disease
	Application
	Used on molars of deciduous teeth
	Procedures for stainless steel crown
		A thin layer of the tooth is removed.
		The stainless steel crown with the right size that fits the tooth most is chosen.
		The crown is then trimmed according to the contour of the tooth.
		The tooth surface is cleaned.
		The crown is cemented onto the tooth.