Having a beautiful smile is very important to many people. If you have chips or breaks in a tooth, it can compromise the overall look of your smile and may make you feel self-conscious. Fortunately, you can easily have your smile restored by having a crown put over the damaged tooth. The guide below walks you through a few things to know about dental crowns so you can be properly prepared for the process that will take place.

Have a Through Exam

The first thing that will take place is that the dentist will do a thorough exam of your teeth. He or she will take x-rays to find out how extensive the damage is to your teeth and determine if a crown is the best restoration option for you.

Prepare for the Crown

If a crown is deemed to be the perfect option, the dentist will need to shape your damaged tooth so that the crown can easily fit over it when it arrives. He or she will also take a mold of your smile to send to dental technicians to have a crown created out of porcelain that can slip right over your damaged tooth. Shaping the tooth will not be painful and is simply done to ensure that the crown can be properly secured to your tooth.

Placing the Crown

After the crown is created, you will go back to the dentist, and he or she will numb the area of your mouth where the crown is going to be attached to your tooth. Cement is used to keep the crown in place. After you bite a few times to apply pressure directly to the tooth to secure the crown, your crown will be properly attached, and you will be ready to go.

Maintain Your Crown

You need to make sure that you properly maintain your crown in order for it to last as long as it possibly can. You need to brush and floss the crown the same way you would all of your other other teeth on a daily basis. Wear mouthguards when playing aggressive sports to protect your teeth from injury, and be sure to never use your teeth to open packages, as doing so could damage them.

If you feel your crown start to come loose, you can go to your dentist and have him or her reattach it for you so that it no longer feels loose. This will often take just a few minutes to do, so you will be able to get back to your life as quickly as possible.

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