So you’ve made it through the rest of the dental crown process and the time has come for you to get your permanent crown placed at Eastport Dental in Mesa. As the final blog in our four-part dental crown blog series, we’re going to discuss what you can expect when getting your permanent crown put on.
Getting Your Permanent Crown
If this is your second visit in the crown process you can expect it to be faster than the initial appointment. To begin, we’ll remove your temporary crown and clean up any residual cement, food particles, or other debris that’s left on the natural tooth.
Next, well try on your permanent crown and analyze three main things: the shade and anatomy, the contacts, and the bite. If getting a same-day crown, your seat crown procedure will start at this step.
Assessing The Shade And Anatomy
We know that the appearance of your crown is important to you; it is to us too. When we assess the shade and the anatomy of the crown we’ll check to see if the shade matches with your natural teeth and blends well. We’ll also look at the shape, size, contours, and overall appearance of the crown to ensure that it complements your other teeth.
Evaluating The Contacts
We want to ensure that the space between the crown and the neighboring teeth isn’t too tight, or so loose that it’ll pack food. To do so, we’ll floss each side. If the contact is too tight we can make more room by adjusting the crown or the adjacent natural teeth if needed.
Checking The Bite
Another important thing that we check for is the bite and how the restoration aligns with your other teeth. When you bite your teeth together you don’t want to feel like the crown is the only tooth that’s touching. This means that the crown is “too high”. Having a crown that’s too high will cause pain and trauma to that area of your mouth.
To check the bite we use a thin piece of paper that we have you bite on. The paper transfers ink onto your teeth and allows us to see where they’re hitting each other. We use the results to determine if the pressure is spaced out evenly or if the crown is too high. If the bite is uneven, then we can trim down the area that’s hitting. We only take a tiny bit off at a time because we don’t want to compromise the integrity of the crown. Once we get the bite properly aligned, our dentist will polish your crown and cement it on.
What If There Are Problems With The Permanent Crown?
If the shade on the crown is off, the anatomy isn’t right, the contacts are too loose, the bite is way off, or if the crown just flat out doesn’t fit, then we may need to make you another one. Our Mesa dentist will decide if the changes can be made in-office or if we need to have a professional dental technician do it instead. If enlisting the help of the lab, then you’ll need to wear a temporary crown while we wait for the new permanent one to be created.
It’s important to note that it’s rare for a permanent crown to need to be remade. We understand that it’s an inconvenience to you when this occurs, but if it’s a choice between cementing an imperfect crown, or waiting another couple of weeks to get it right, Dr. Huynh will always choose the latter.
Our goal as a best Mesa dental practice is to provide all of our patients with the best possible dental treatment and never settle for anything less. If that means having you wear a temporary for a few more days, then it’s worth the slight time investment.
Dental Crowns From Mesa, Arizona
Now that you understand the entire process of getting a dental crown in Mesa, Arizona there shouldn’t be anything stopping you if you’re ever told that you need to get one made.
If you suspect that one of your teeth may need crown coverage, then come to see us for a consultation. We’ll assess your tooth and the surrounding areas, and give you our recommendations as to what treatment is best for your smile. We’ll answer any questions that you may have and get you started on a plan to a healthier mouth. Call Eastport Dental, the top dentist in Mesa, AZ today!
