Restoration of a lost tooth using crowns

If the natural tooth has a small cavity it can be restored with a filling. But often the tooth has large fillings and a part of the crown may have been broken off. In this cases there is little left of the natural tissue of the tooth. Artificial crowns are used to restore the tooth in such cases.
When creating an artificial crown, 1.5 to 2 mm of the surface of the natural tooth is removed. An imprint of the prepared tooth is made and an artificial crown is made for this tooth. The dentist attaches this crown to the prepared tooth using special cement. Multiple visits are necessary to create an artificial crown, so the prepared tooth is covered with a provisional crown for a person being able to smile, chew food and be secure from pain between visits.
Artificial crowns can be made from different materials:

• plastic or composite – the least expensive
• cast metal – metallic in appearance, durable but not aesthetic
• metal plastic – there is a thin layer of metal in the inside of the crown which is covered with composite - a material that has the same colour the tooth has. The metal used in these crowns is not visible but it gives the strength to the crown
• metal ceramics – there is a thin layer of metal in the inside of the crown which is covered by porcelain (ceramics). This restoration is durable and is aesthetic in appearance
• pure porcelain – most aesthetic. The porcelain crowns imitate the look of natural teeth. Unfortunately, crowns made of pure porcelain are  fragile. A new technology has been invented to solve this problem – a computer milling machine cuts the solid frames for the crowns made from aluminium oxide or zirconium oxide. Such porcelain crowns are aesthetic and stronger than porcelain. However, they are the most expensive artificial crowns.