La PlataDental
La PlataA dental crown is a restoration used in a variety of treatments to replace lost tooth structure. We offer crowns crafted from a variety of materials including gold, porcelain fused to metal, and natural-looking all-ceramic. The crown is placed completely over the top of a damaged tooth where it serves two main functions – to replace lost dental structure and protect the tooth from further damage. Dental crowns can also be used to support a fixed bridge tooth replacement prosthetic. To find out more about dental crowns, contact La Plata Dental to schedule an appointment.
Some of the most common reasons we encourage patients to receive dental crowns include:
Traditional dental crowns are placed over the course of two appointments in our office. For more advanced tooth replacement or root canal restoration, the process may take more visits. Typically, we begin by numbing the area around the tooth to be treated. Then, we remove any damaged structures. Once the tooth is prepared, we capture bite impressions that will be used by our dental lab to create the custom crown. Before you leave the office, we place a temporary crown to protect the prepared tooth. Once we receive your custom restoration from the lab, you’ll schedule the second appointment. This visit is much shorter. We simply remove the temporary and replace it with the flawlessly crafted custom crown.
When patients hear that they need a dental crown in La Plata, they often panic because they’re worried about the cost of the treatment. Our team takes great pride in offering transparent cost estimates when we recommend treatments, helping you feel confident and comfortable moving forward with a service. In addition, we also accept dental insurance and are a proud in-network provider with many major insurance plans, like Aetna, United Healthcare, and Delta Dental. If you have any concerns about the cost of dental crowns, we invite you to give us a call!
Every dental crown that we make is custom-tailored, both in design and shape, to fit each of our patient’s individual needs. Because of this, there’s no set price tag associated with the treatment. At your consultation, we will provide you with an estimate based on several different factors, including:
While dental insurance plans can vary greatly, for the most part, most will cover at least a portion of the cost of dental crowns in La Plata. In order for your benefits to kick in, you will need to pay your complete deductible and ensure that your out-of-pocket maximum hasn’t already been reached. Our office is also in-network with most major PPO dental insurances, meaning that you’ll receive extensive discounts when you choose our office for care.
If you are uninsured or underinsured, you can take advantage of our partnership with CareCredit, a third-party financer. Upon approval, the cost of your treatment can be split up into monthly payments, all at little-to-no interest! This makes treatment much more affordable, allowing our patients to easily incorporate the cost of getting a dental crown into their monthly budgets.
Dental crowns are an easy way to repair all kinds of issues you may have with your teeth, from the serious to the purely aesthetic. Their versatility has made them popular, but if you’ve never gotten one before, you still may not necessarily know what to expect.
There’s certainly more to this restorative treatment than meets the eye, and we’d love to tell you more about it at your next appointment. Until then, hopefully this FAQ can give you some of the information you’re looking for.
Dental crowns are meant to be an enduring solution to decay or damage, and while they don’t last forever, they can protect your teeth for a long time to come. While their lifespan varies, you can expect your restoration to protect you for anywhere from five to fifteen years.
There are a few factors that can either positively or negatively affect that number. Some crowns are naturally under more pressure than others, which will cause them to give out a bit faster. In any case, however, you can increase the lifespan of your dental crown through regular brushing and biannual dental checkups.
As you may know, getting a dental crown requires removing a small amount of your enamel. If this has you concerned about discomfort, don’t worry—we will numb your mouth completely before beginning any kind of dental care, ensuring that the dental crown placement is completely comfortable.
Once the dental crown is in position, you may be a little bit sensitive for a few days. This should fade completely after a few days, so you should be able to make it through recovery with a little bit of ibuprofen.
In the modern era, dental crowns—even metal ones—are crafted with materials that are designed not to interfere with an MRI. However, there are some older dental crowns where this is an issue, and the older yours is, the higher that risk.
If you have a metal dental crown, you should tell your MRI technician so that they can plan accordingly. And if you want to prevent this from happening in the future, you might consider replacing your metal crown with a metal-free one.
Teeth whitening works on enamel because it’s naturally porous, which allows it to penetrate deep into your tooth. This isn’t possible when it comes to dental crowns. The materials that restorations are made of, whether metal or ceramic, isn’t affected the same way by whitening solutions.
If you want a brighter smile, it’s better to get teeth whitening before your crown is placed (provided that your oral health issue doesn’t preclude whitening treatment). Then, you can get a metal-free restoration color-matched to the rest of your teeth.
