Dental Crowns in Nashville, TN Nashville, TN
Dr. Matt McGee creates beautiful, long-lasting crowns for healthy, comfortable teeth.
Overview
Is a Crown Right for Me?
Dr. McGee will assess your current dental situation and take x-rays to verify the best dental treatment. Patients may need crowns for the following reasons:
- A cavity is too large for a filling to adequately treat the tooth
- A tooth is weakened or cracked and would not withstand chewing
- A tooth is missing, and the patient needs a bridge
- To cover and protect root canal treatment
- To cover a dental implant that has been placed
- To improve the appearance of stained or malformed teeth
How Is a Tooth Prepared and Crown Placed?
The process of getting your crown involves several steps. Two dental visits are sometimes required to complete the placement, but often cases can be completed in one office visit with the use of our CEREC machine.
With the CEREC, Dr. McGee employs Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) technology to allow patients the convenience of getting their crown made and placed in the same visit. About 80 percent of our patients opt for CEREC crowns because of their convenience. And they are the same price and have the same durability as a lab-produced crown.
Not every tooth is a candidate for CEREC (front teeth, for example), so in those instances, a two-appointment visit is necessary to prepare the tooth and place the crown.
During the initial visit, the patient will be numbed so that the preparation procedure can commence. A certain amount of the tooth structure, including the decayed portion, must be removed so that the eventual crown can be the adequate thickness for strength and durability, as well as aesthetics.
For CEREC restorations, CAD images of the tooth will be taken, and the dimensions will be sent to the milling equipment within the office for completion. Your crown will be placed that very same day.
For non-CEREC crowns, an impression of your preparation must be taken with a putty-like compound. This impression is used to make a temporary crown, which Dr. McGee will place on your tooth with temporary cement. The impression will be sent to a dental laboratory which will fabricate the dental crown.
You will return in a couple of weeks. Once the crown has arrived, Dr. McGee will place your crown with permanent cement and shape it so that your bite is correct.
