Anterior crowns

Anterior crowns

Anterior tooth metal ceramic crown



Anterior crown procedure

The purpose of a crown is to protect a damaged tooth by a complete sheathing. This sheath can be made of metal, ceramic or plastic. This protection is intended to preserve the remaining natural tooth for as long as possible.

There are various possibilities when selecting the material.

Although metal alloys are among the most stable and durable solutions, they are out of the question in the anterior region for aesthetic reasons.

In the anterior region, ceramic is often used, which is connected to a metal shell. This combination is robust yet aesthetically pleasing. This metal-ceramic crown is now generally regarded as the standard solution.

Ceramic mass is burned on a special metal alloy. A special variant of the metal-ceramic crown, the so-called galvanocron, instead of a cast metal alloy, uses a galvanized fine gold layer, on which the ceramic is applied. Since the metal core is veneered with the ceramic, one also speaks of a veneering crown.

Although the metal core gives the crown a high stability, it is less transparent than an all-ceramic crown. Especially in the area of the front teeth, the metal-ceramic crown can therefore optically differ from the natural neighboring teeth.
The disadvantages of the metal-ceramic crown: The edges tend to have a darker color and the cosmetic result is not as perfect  as with an all-ceramic crown.

The all-ceramic crown or jacket crown is probably the most perfect solution from an aesthetic point of view. Here, the tooth is coated exclusively with ceramic and the natural tooth color can be imitated particularly well. The translucency, i.e. the light transmission, can also be designed here with the natural tooth and a metal framework is completely dispensed with. In order to achieve a high level of stability, there are various processes based on the first production of a high-strength, ceramic cap, on which the tooth shape and colour can then be designed with other ceramics.
A crown can be used in the following cases:
  • Replacement of a filling if there is no longer enough tooth substance to attach the filling.
  • Protecting a weak tooth from breaking
  • Restoration of a crack in the tooth structure
  • Attaching a bridge
  • Covering a dental implant
  • Covering of a severely discolored or malformed tooth
  • Covering a tooth that has undergone root canal treatment.

A crown can also be the basis for a bridge. This is referred to as an anchor or abutment tooth.

Treatment steps

In order to provide a tooth with a crown, the tooth must be prepared, i.e. part of the hard substance must be removed.

Then an impression is made of the tooth stump. Which serves the dental technician as a template for the production of the crown. In the dental laboratory, this requires a number of many different work steps. Until the final completion of the crown, the tooth stump can be supplied with a so-called provisional (usually made of plastic). The temporary prosthesis has the task of keeping stimuli such as heat and cold away from the tooth stump and keeping the ground tooth in its position.