Crown refers to the restoration of teeth using materials that are fabricated by indirect methods which are cemented into place. A crown is used to cap or completely cover a tooth.
Traditionally, the teeth to be crowned are prepared by a dentist and records are given to a dental technician to fabricate the crown or bridge, which can then be inserted at another dental appointment. The main advantages of the indirect method of tooth restoration include:
fabrication of the restoration without the need for having the patient in the chair
the utilization of materials that require special fabrication methods, such as casting
the use of materials that require intense heat to be processed into a restoration, such as gold and porcelain.
The restorative materials used in indirect restorations possess superior mechanical properties than do the materials used for direct methods of tooth restoration, and thus produce a restoration of much higher quality.
As new technology and material chemistry has evolved, computers are increasingly becoming a part of crown and bridge fabrication, such as in CAD/CAM technology, as will be elaborated on below.
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(Source: Wikipedia)
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A porcelain-fused-to-metal crown for tooth #29 on its stone model. It is now ready to be cemented into the patient's mouth. The prosthetic crown does not extend distally to tooth #31 (molar to the left in photo) because the span is too large, as tooth #30 is missing. This edentulous area, together with a much larger one across the arch in the area of teeth #17-19, will be restored with a removable partial denture.
The stone model die for the same PFM crown on tooth #29. Notice how much tooth structure has been removed in order to facilitate placement of a crown. The original dimensions of the tooth approach if not duplicate the contours of the restoration in the photo above. The silvery paint on the stone die of tooth #29 is a die spacer, placed to allow for a minute amount of space between the tooth structure and the internal surface of the crown, which will later fill with cement upon final insertion of the crown into the mouth.
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