If you’ve ever considered getting crowns, it’s important that you have a full understanding of what the experience entails. Because crowns, like diamonds, are forever (sort of).

Here at Myers Street, we’ve recently acquired the technology to measure and manufacture crowns on-site within one day, cutting the time it takes to apply a crown to your teeth.

Who’s a candidate?

You may need a dental crown for several reasons. They work to protect teeth weakened from breaking and keep the weak tooth together if parts of it are cracked. Crowns restore broken or severely worn-down teeth. They can be used to cover and support a tooth with a large filling and not much tooth remaining, for holding a dental bridge in place, covering misshapen or severely discoloured teeth, covering a dental implant, or covering a tooth treated with a root canal.

In and out in a day

Crowns have traditionally been a multi-step process, spread out over a few appointments over several weeks. Now we have the technology that can see the process undertaken in a single day. This is a more convenient treatment for you. It’s streamlined, and it costs less, as you don’t need to have temporary measures put in place while the permanent crowns are being fabricated off-site. You also benefit in that they can be adjusted on the day to make sure they’re the right fit and look.

We saw a greater demand to have everything done in a single visit from our patients, so we decided we needed to invest in the technology. A 3D camera takes a measurement of the teeth, rather than using the moulding clay. We use the same 3D technology to design and print the crown.

The benefits from having a single-visit crown for the patient is that you only have to visit us once to get it done. You used to have to come on several occasions, leaving on the first day with a temporary cap. For two weeks, you’d be dealing with tooth sensitivity and other annoyances. Now, life’s been made easier. I had one patient who flew in from Singapore to get the crowns done. He flew in on the Monday, had the procedure done on the Tuesday, and flew out on Thursday.

Getting the same machine as the lab we used to send to makes all the difference; what took two weeks to turnaround, now can be done inhouse, on the same day.

Crowns vs. Veneers

It’s important to distinguish between a veneer and a crown. While similar to a crown, a veneer is a wafer-thin slice of porcelain which is bonded to a tooth in order to mask its natural colour, shape, or position in the mouth. They can be applied for a single tooth in need of attention, or the whole mouth. Veneers can cover part of a tooth – just to even things out – or the whole tooth to cover up chips, cracks or discolouration.

Veneers are meant to last for between 15 and 20 years, at which point they’ll need to be replaced. Since the veneers can make you look up to 10 years younger, you’ll almost be playing catch-up with the passage of time.

Dental crowns are caps placed on top of damaged teeth. They are used to protect, cover and restore the shape of your teeth when fillings can’t solve the problem. Crowns can be made out of metals, porcelain, resin or ceramic materials. Typically, they don’t require special care over time aside from regular good oral hygiene.

Unlike a veneer, crowns serve more of a functional, rather than a cosmetic purpose. Veneers are like the artificial fingernails you sometimes see.

Technology is all about making life’s necessities more convenient these days. We’re happy to be a part of that trend.