There are many reasons why a tooth may need to be filled or restored: decay and chipping are two common ones.
Crowning or capping a tooth will usually take two to three visits. At the first visit, we will prepare your tooth to receive its new crown. First we will shape it to fit inside the new covering. This will involve some drilling to give the tooth a uniform shape. We will numb the tooth and the surrounding area beforehand. If there is very little tooth structure left to begin with, we may have to build up the tooth with filling material, rather than remove tooth structure, to support the crown.
After the tooth is prepared, we will take impressions of your teeth, either digitally or with reliable, putty-like impression materials, and send them to the dental laboratory. There, the impressions will be used to make models of your teeth for the creation of a crown. The models will serve as guides to the highly skilled lab technicians, who will ensure that your new crown is designed to enhance your smile and function well within your bite.
Before you leave the office, we will attach a temporary crown to your tooth to protect it until the permanent crown is ready. At the second visit, your permanent crown will be attached to your tooth with either a resin that hardens when exposed to a special light source, or a type of permanent cement.