What would be your reaction if your tooth broke the day before an important event to leave you with an unattractive smile? Would you like to wait until you receive an appointment from your dentist to repair the tooth? Would you prefer leaving your tooth unprotected from the vagaries of the weather? We are confident you wouldn’t want to challenge the bacteria in your mouth that are ready to cause additional damage to the broken tooth requiring intensive treatments.
Earlier, people with broken or damaged teeth had to visit their dentist numerous times to restore the tooth with a dental crown. People walked around for nearly three weeks with an unattractive reshaped tooth and an unreliable temporary crown waiting for the fabrication of their permanent restoration from a dental laboratory. Fortunately, dentists are now using CAD/CAM technology to design a customized dental crown in a couple of hours in their office to give you same-day crowns near you. Same-day crowns are a lifesaver if you are in a bind over your broken tooth.
The Process for Getting Same-Day Crowns
The procedure to get same-day crowns remains similar to getting traditional crowns. However, after reshaping your tooth to accommodate the dental crown, the same-day process eliminates the need for temporary crowns. The CAD/CAM technology permits the dentist to capture digital images of your teeth and transfer them to a computer soon after completing the reshaping process.
After the digital images are transferred to the computer, you can wait in the reception area or window shop in the neighborhood for a couple of hours until same-day crowns are ready for placement.
You return to the office for your restoration and have your permanent crown over the reshaped tooth on the same day without needing an additional visit.
Benefits and Downsides of Same-Day Crowns
Benefits
Having your tooth restored and treated in one visit is a benefit of same-day crowns. Other pros include:
- Restoring Function: Your smile’s appearance, speech pattern, and eating habits are affected when you have a broken or damaged tooth. Therefore getting your tooth repaired at the earliest is essential. When you prefer same-day crowns, the tooth’s functionality is restored immediately, ensuring you don’t have to deal with unreliable restorations like temporary crowns for weeks.
- Injury Prevention: Temporary crowns are prone to coming off and causing injury to your neighboring teeth and gums. As the same-day crown procedure eliminates temporary crowns, you succeed in preventing injuries to adjacent tooth structures.
- Affordable Restorations: Price differences between same-day and traditional crowns are not significant. However, you save money because you don’t have to pay for multiple appointments and a temporary crown.
Downsides
Although same-day crowns provide the convenience of restoring your tooth in one visit, they also have some downsides you must consider. They are:
- Lack of Durability: a block of ceramic helps craft same-day crowns, unlike traditional crowns made from metals, porcelain, ceramic, or a combination. Metal crowns bond incredibly well to the teeth and are also highly durable. Porcelain fused with metal crowns is also among the most robust restoration materials. Same-day crowns made from ceramic can also last as long as traditional crowns when they receive proper care.
- Detecting Fractures Is Challenging for Technology: If your tooth is fractured extending below the gum line, you might find it better to seek traditional crowns. CAD technology does not detect problems or damage below the gum line.
If you need an instant restoration because of time constraints or merely want to avoid multiple dental appointments besides a temporary crown, same-day crowns are a practical solution that helps you restore your tooth affordably. Unfortunately, if you also struggle with bruxism, the dentist might recommend metal or porcelain fused metal crowns for their durability.
If you are still determining which restoration is best for your smile, why not schedule an appointment with the dentist to understand whether the same-day crown procedure suits your requirements? The dentist will evaluate your damaged tooth and discuss your oral health habits and the benefits and downsides of same-day crowns. The dentist will help you make an informed decision to restore your smile and functionality to its best.
If you want to restore a damaged tooth but need more time for multiple visits, please schedule a consultation with your dentist today to discuss the same-day crown procedure.