Crowns

Crowns or “caps” have been in use in dentistry for many years and are an effective, high quality treatment for teeth which have been structurally compromised due to large amounts of decay, larg fillings, extensive wear, breakage or root canals. Because the crown covers the entire tooth, it can be strengthened in ways not possible with traditional fillings. There are two basic types of crowns we use in our office:

Porcelain fused to metal crowns or PFMs have a metallic substructure to which the porcelain is baked. They show a thin metal "margin" at the gumline. There is metal in this area of the crown because of the nature of its construction. (You may have occasionally noticed someone with a dark gray or blackish appearance at the gumline of an existing crown - that is the metal "margin.") Modern porcelain technology renders PFM crowns that function wonderfully and look very much like natural teeth.

At Morrell Dental, we are able to offer PFM crowns, which hide the metal margin under a thin layer of specialized porcelain on the portion of the crown that is visible. This renders a more pleasing look to the crown in general. About 98 percent of the crowns we place will have a porcelain margin.

All Ceramic Crowns provide the best esthetics. They have no metal structure. They are somewhat weaker than PFM crowns and are best used in the front of the mouth and when grinding is not a problem.