A crown is used to protect and strengthen a tooth that has been weakened by a large cavity or a large fracture, they are also be used to cover root-canal-treated teeth to avoid fracture in future. Crowns are tooth shape and fit over your remaining tooth structure. They are made of hard durable material and are cemented onto your tooth permanently. There are two appointments in the process of having a crown made. The first appointment Dr. Ahrens will smooth down the tooth ensuring the new crown will fit snugly against the adjacent teeth. A scan will then be taken of the tooth to send to our dental lab to create your custom crown. Typically a crown can be made by the lab in two to three weeks. In the meantime we create a temporary crown for you that will help protect your tooth while the final crown is made. At the second appointment the temporary is taken off, we try on the new crown. We go through a process of checking the new crown to make sure your bite feels comfortable, that you are able to floss around it, and that the crown is sealed around the margins. If everything looks good, we go ahead and cement the crown down permanently. Crowns are meant to protect the integrity of the tooth long term, however it is still very important to brush and floss around the crown to ensure you don’t develop a cavity underneath the crown