Advanced Cosmetic and General Dentistry Blog

If you suffer from large areas of tooth decay, you may be wondering whether a filling or a dental crown is your best choice.

Your first step is a thorough consultation with an experienced and skilled cosmetic dentist like Dr. Jamie Sands or Dr. Jason Sands. They will give you a comprehensive evaluation to determine the best way of treating your tooth decay.

The difference between fillings and crowns is in the extent of damage they treat. Small and moderate areas of decay can be treated with porcelain or white-composite fillings.

·         Porcelain gives you a filling that so closely matches your natural teeth that it can’t be distinguished as being a filling. It looks like part of the tooth.

·         White composite fillings are less pearlescent than porcelain but are still excellent ways to repair damage, and are a simpler procedure. They work well for areas of moderate chewing pressure.

When decay or other damage has so destroyed a tooth that it cannot survive with just a filling, a crown is required. A crown will cover the entire visible tooth down to the gumline and give it new surfaces on every side. The tooth will have renewed stability and cosmetic beauty, and a renewed life span if you care for it well.

At Smiles By Sands in Studio City, California, we use only metal-free fillings and porcelain dental crowns, because our goal is to provide you with the highest-quality options for the most beautiful, natural smile. Please call or email our office if you would like a consultation or dental examination.

Our teeth are designed to last a lifetime, but lifestyle, age, disease and trauma take their toll. But today’s advanced dental technology can help. For chipped, decayed and broken teeth, dental crowns are a wonderful solution, and Smiles By Sands in Studio City, California has helped many people restore their teeth with beautiful, natural-looking crowns.

A crown is a tooth-shaped cap that fits over the top of a tooth to strengthen it and restore function and beauty. It provides a complete set of new tooth surfaces:

·         Strengthening teeth weakened by tooth decay

·         Reinforcing and protecting cracked teeth

·         Restoring broken teeth for effective chewing

·         Prolonging the tooth’s life

The important thing to avoid is bacteria spreading beneath the crown, where they can excrete their acidic toxins and destroy tooth tissue. If you neglect your oral hygiene, decay could become extensive under the crown without you realizing it. Eventually the tooth’s nerve will be affected and you will notice a toothache. By then you have lost more of your already damaged tooth and may have to go ahead with a root canal or extraction.

No special tools or brushes are needed to care for a crown. With good dental hygiene, a crown can last an average of 10-15 years. The same rules apply to caring for your crown that apply to general tooth care. Dr. Jamie Sands and Dr. Jason Sands advise people to avoid sticky foods which could eventually loosen the crown, and hard foods that could damage or break it. Home oral care is crucial, so be sure to brush and floss every day and schedule regular dental checkups and professional cleaning from our skilled hygienist.

If you have any porcelain-fused-with-metal crowns, they will eventually form a dark line near the gums. That is the metal lining starting to show as the gums shrink with age. We will be glad to replace those crowns with all-porcelain crowns – or to replace any gold crowns which you feel are not attractive in your smile.

Please contact our cosmetic dentistry office to schedule a personal consultation.