Dental crowns are among the most commonly requested procedures by the tens of thousands of dental patients, who are looking to fix their teeth.
These are so common that every day, without even having any knowledge, you must be meeting people who are wearing these.
If you too are planning to get your teeth fixed with dental crowns or bridges, you must know the below:
When are dental crowns required?
A dental crown or cap is a tooth-like cover that is used to restore the form and function of a tooth that is significantly deteriorated. Dental crowns are usually advised in the following situations:
- To replace a large dental filling: When a lot of natural tooth structure has been removed, the tooth is quite weak and may crack while eating. So your dentist will likely recommend a crown be placed over the tooth to protect it from any more damage.
- To save a fractured tooth: A tooth that has cracked or fractured, may need to be carefully restored with composite and then covered with a crown to save it from permanent damage that calls for its extraction.
- To cover a tooth that has been treated with root canal: Root canal treatment involves the removal of the dental pulp, which is actually the blood-supplied part of the tooth. Once that has been removed the tooth becomes brittle and is prone to breaking. To prevent that, usually root canal-treated teeth are filled with the appropriate restoration material and then covered with the crown.
- To cover a twisted or ill-shaped tooth: Dental crowns are sometimes used to improve the aesthetics, if a tooth is deformed or excessively twisted.
- To cover a discolored tooth: A grossly discolored tooth or stained tooth may also be covered with crowns and veneers, if it improves the aesthetics.
- Placed over an implant: Dental implants are used to replace a missing tooth root, and the crown is placed over that to complete a tooth. So if you are going to get dental implants in Thailand, a crown will certainly be part of the treatment. You will be given options for different kinds of dental crowns based on your budget and requirement.
When are dental bridges required?
Dental bridges are similar to dental crowns, except they are several crowns joined together. Bridges are used to cover the gap left by missing teeth.
If one or more teeth have been removed from a dental arch, the gap can be covered with a dental bridge, which is attached with two crowns placed on the teeth adjacent to the gap on both sides.
Kinds of dental crowns
Crowns and bridges can be classified into the following three types, based on their material:
All ceramic crowns
All ceramic crowns, also known as porcelain crowns, are metal free crowns that look just like natural teeth. They can be:
- Zirconia
- No metal
- Translucent material with life-like appearance
- Made from a single block of crystal
- Preferred most for anterior teeth and molars
- Strongest kind of dental crown
- The only drawback is that it may abrade opposite teeth
- E-max
- No metal
- Made from quartz (a strong glass ceramic)
- Doesn’t need to be bulky
- Looks like natural teeth
- Strong and durable
- Doesn’t chip or fracture easily
- Mostly recommended for anterior teeth
Porcelain fused to metal (PFM)
- Also known as metal-ceramic crown
- Porcelain is fused over non-precious cast metal such as cobalt chromium or gold alloy
- Can give artificial appearance
- Mostly preferred for molars
- Not as expensive as all-ceramic crowns
- Metallic grey line can start to show where the tooth meets the gumline
- Over many years, sometimes, the porcelain chips off the crown
- Should easily last 8-10 years, or even more, if made well
All metal
All metal crowns are rarely offered these days; they are mostly obsolete and you probably shouldn’t consider them.
Cost of dental crowns
How much your dental crown in Thailand would cost, essentially depends upon the kind of material you choose from the options above.
Porcelain is expensive, and the all-porcelain crowns cost almost double of the PFM.
The metal-ceramic crown (PFM) costs about $300-$800, depending upon your dental clinic and their location but the cost can go up depending upon the amount of gold used in your crown material.
You can discuss the options with your dentist before traveling, but it is best to finalize treatment plan only after the dentist has examined you.
How many days will I need?
If you don’t need any other dental work, but just the crowns or bridges to be placed, you may even return after three days.
Appointment 1 – The dentist will cut your tooth (to make space for crown) and smoothen the surface. He will then make an impression of your teeth, based on which the perfect-fitting crown will be formed.
Appointment 2 – If the dentist you choose has an in-house dental lab, they may call you in for a trial of your crowns/bridges even the next day. If they have to send those impressions to a lab outside, you may need an extra day here.
Once you are satisfied with the fitting, your crown or bridge will be fixed over the concerned teeth with dental cement.
A third appointment may be required for the final fixing and adjustments to ensure the crown or bridge feels comfortable and does not interfere with the way your upper and lower teeth meet.
If you have even about a week in Thailand, you can easily get all the crowns and bridges you need, provided no other major dental work it required.
Write to us about your dental problems to know how long you should plan for your dental crowns or bridges, and how much should you budget for it.
How do I select the best dental clinic?
So many clinics, so many conflicting reviews, and you just do not know whom to trust. Well, you can use our service to find some of our trusted doctors that offer dental crowns in Thailand and order your personal treatment plan.
Contact more than one doctor, if you find necessary, and go with the one that you feel most certain about.
If you have specific concerns or preferences, our care team members would be happy to help you select the best clinic.
How long will crowns and bridges last?
It is not unusual for dental crowns or bridges to last 10-15 years, but you can certainly expect them to stay on even longer than that if you maintain good oral hygiene and do not develop any major dental problems in all those years.
It is also imperative that the restorations were done by a well-trained dentist; the doctor’s skill and experience could be vital to the success of your dental restorations.
Get in touch with us using the form on this page, to know about our packages for dental crowns and bridges.
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Thanks for explaining that dental crowns can also help in covering an ill-shaped tooth. One of my canines is like that and it has always made my smile look a bit odd. Perhaps I should get that fixed someday.