Improve Your Smile With Porcelain Crowns

Extensively decayed or cracked teeth can be saved with lifelike porcelain crowns. Made from high-quality, tooth-colored ceramic, porcelaindental crowns crowns from Dr. Wynn Okuda in Honolulu, HI, cover and protect teeth, allowing you to have a strong, attractive smile indefinitely. Learn here how crowns work.

The dental crown

It's really a jacket or cap custom-made according to your dentist's specific directions and your unique oral impressions. Crowns bite together accurately with the opposite arch of teeth. Dr. Okuda uses them to:

  • Finish dental implants, the best tooth replacement available today
  • Support and protect teeth which have multiple fillings
  • Attach fixed bridgework to adjoining natural teeth
  • Repair teeth which have suffered oral injury and are cracked, chipped or discolored
  • Normalize the size and shape of teeth which are congenitally malformed (such as peg-shaped lateral incisors) or teeth which have very thin or pitted enamel (a condition called enamel hypoplasia, reports Healthline)

The crown treatment
 
Dr. Okuda in Honolulu, HI, determines if your tooth would benefit from a porcelain crown by examining it and the surrounding gum tissue. He'll also X-ray it to see if the interior pulp is viable and if the roots and surrounding bone are healthy. Some teeth require endodontic therapy--a root canal--to remove inflamed pulp before the tooth can receive its realistic restoration.

If a crown is appropriate, Dr. Okuda will numb the tooth and remove the damaged portions with a high speed drill and other tools. He'll shape and size the tooth so it can accept the crown. He places a temporary cap over the tooth to support it while the permanent one is custom-crafted at the dental lab.

When you return to the office, he'll take off the temporary restoration and use a strong adhesive to bond the new crown over your tooth. Today's crowns fit precisely and blend in exceptionally well with neighboring teeth. Unlike porcelain fused to metal crowns, all-ceramic crowns look very natural, having no dark areas near the gum line to detract from your smile aesthetics.

Making a crown last
Thankfully, crowns do not decay, and they are highly stain-resistant. However, they can chip or become dislodged if you eat very sticky or hard foods, such as candy apples, or if you grind your teeth. In other words, your crown will last longer if you treat it gently and:

  • Brush twice a day with a soft brush and non-abrasive toothpaste
  • Floss daily
  • Get your routine examinations and cleanings with Dr. Okuda

These good oral hygiene habits also prevent periodontal disease at crown margins where plaque and tartar may collect.

Come see us
 
We'll tell you all about porcelain crowns and if one is right for you. Call Dr. Wynn Okuda's dental office in Honolulu, HI, for a free smile consultation with one of the country's most recognized dental experts at (808) 734-1099.