Dental Crowns in London Waterloo

Making a dental crown usually requires two visits with the dentist.  During the first visit, the dentist will prepare your tooth and take impressions for making the dental crown. In the second visit, once the crown has been returned from the laboratory, the dentist will fit the crown on the relevant tooth.

As part of the first visit, the dentist will typically take an x-ray to check the tooth roots and surrounding bone. If there is extensive decay or if the dentist determines there is risk of infection to the tooth, a root canal may need to be performed prior to making a dental crown. When the dentist is ready to make a crown, he or she will numb the tooth with an anaesthetic. The tooth receiving the crown is filed down or ground down alongside its chewing surface and sides in order to make space for the crown. If a large portion of the tooth is missing (due to damage or tooth decay perhaps), the dentist will ‘build-up’ the tooth using composite material to provide support to the crown. Once the tooth has been ground-down and reshaped, a putty material is used to take an impression of the tooth. Digital impressions can also be taken in lieu of putty. The impressions are used by the laboratory to create a dental crown that fits to the exact dimensions of the tooth.

The putty or digital impressions are sent to a laboratory who will then construct the dental crown to match the exact dimensions required to fit onto the tooth. The laboratory can usually take 2-3 weeks to return the dental crown to the dentist. If the dentist has requested a porcelain dental crown, they will select a colour that exactly matches the shade of the adjacent teeth. While the permanent crown is being manufactured, typically a temporary crown will be placed on the tooth to cover and protect the prepared tooth.

At the second appointment, the dentist will remove the temporary dental crown and place the permanent crown to check the fit and colour, to ensure the crown sits well and exactly matches the colour of the surrounding teeth. If all looks okay, the permanent crown will then be cemented onto the tooth.