When an individual damages a tooth for any number of reasons, a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown is one of the best options in cosmetic tooth repair.
There are a number of benefits that porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns offer.
- They cover and protect damaged teeth.
- They are durable and attractive.
- The inner metal core buffers the crown against heavy biting pressures
- The outer porcelain layer looks virtually identical to the color of natural tooth enamel
A porcelain-fused-to-metal crown is manufactured from two substances. The core of the crown is metal. This metal core is then surrounded by a layer of hard, baked porcelain.
Houston dentists recommend porcelain-fused-to-meal crowns for a number of reasons.
Some teeth that have been previously filled lose their fillings. A PFM crown is an excellent way to save such a tooth and protect it against future tooth decay.
Some people suffer from Bruxism and do not realize it until after one or more teeth have been worn down during their sleep. Such teeth can be repaired and restored with porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns.
Teeth also can be fractured in an accident, or even cracked when eating hard foods. Sometimes these fractures are very severe. In years past, when dentist saw a significant portion of tooth mass destroyed, they would extract the tooth.
Cosmetic dentists prefer to do everything medically and scientifically possible to save damaged teeth. Even the most apparently hopeless of teeth can often be saved by fitting them with PFM crowns and made to look and function like before.
Because a dental laboratory actually manufactures the crown,
it is necessary for the patient to schedule two appointments with his or her dentist.
The first appointment is to gather information the lab will use in constructing the crown. The second appointment will involve fitting the PFM crown to the tooth.
Any decay that is affecting the tooth must first be removed with a dental handpiece. The dentist will numb the area around the tooth and place a rubber dam in the back of the mouth to protect the throat and air passageways from dental debris. The tooth is then cleaned and reshaped to accommodate the forthcoming crown.
In order to provide the lab with a frame of reference to work with, the dentist will need to take impressions of the patients teeth. These impressions are then used to make a model of the mouth that will be sent off to the lab after the patient goes home.
Prior to sending the patient home, the dentist will take one more step in the preliminary process. He or she will fit the patient with a temporary crown that will protect the tooth while the lab works on the porcelain-fused-to-metal crown.
When the lab receives the model, it uses the replicas of the patients teeth to manufacture the PFM crown custom fitted to the tooth being repaired. After the restoration is ready, the dental laboratory sends it back to the dentists office.
The dentist calls the patient back in, tests the fit of the crown and the patient?s bite, and if all checks out well, cements the crown in place.
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