Switch Dental is committed to helping you get a set of teeth that you love and that love you back. As a result, we offer a range of treatments: if you have a chipped tooth, broken tooth, weak or fragile teeth, a new crown can have you feeling like royalty (yes, terrible pun intended).
A crown is designed to improve or protect vulnerable teeth. If you’re feeling like your teeth are brittle or chipped, a cap can encircle the affected tooth. Crowns are also a viable option for larger cavities that a filling just won’t completely fix.
Dental crowns are most often ceramic or porcelain to match the natural colour of your teeth, but are also able to be made from gold. Usually, a dental crown can be completed within two visits. Your dentist will ask you to leave a week or two between each visit. That way, the dentist can get an exact match crafted for your tooth.
The dentist will first assess your tooth for best treatment. In this session, your tooth will be sculpted down and prepared for your permanent crown. Switch dentists will also make an impression of your tooth to be sent away to our lab. In the lab, we create a ceramic or porcelain crown from the impression made in your first visit. We have a great relationship with our lab, so you can be confident in the results. In the meantime, your dentist will place a temporary crown on the tooth.
We provide dental crowns & tooth bonding services in Lower Hutt. Temporary crowns allow you to adjust to the feeling of a crowned tooth before getting the permanent crown. You can maintain your tooth’s health with a durable interim crown over the tooth.
By your second visit, your permanent crown will have been fully processed in our lab. The ceramic crown will replace your temporary one. Our dentist checks the crown’s fit and your bite to ensure maximum comfort. This is a relatively gentle dental procedure and we take extra care. After all – you’ve only got one set of teeth! We want to make sure you’re looking and feeling your best.
If your chipped tooth doesn’t warrant a dental crown, talk to our dentists about tooth bonding. Consult with our dentist first, but tooth bonding is perfect for cracked, chipped or oddly shaped teeth. This method is a cheaper option and isn’t as durable, so this is a good option for minor damage. Tooth bonding repairs damaged teeth, protects exposed roots and improves the look of particular teeth.
Tooth bonds are made with the same material used to make white fillings – composite resin. Composite resin is easy to mould and shape, which hardens when cured under a particular kind of light. Bonded teeth are easily made to match your natural tooth colour, since the resin already comes in a variety of shades. Tooth bonding is a non-invasive process and you can have completed without anaesthetic in some cases. It’ll take less than an hour for each tooth to have a bond applied.
For a tooth bond, the dentist will create small abrasions in the affected teeth, then apply and mould a small amount of resin. Once the resin hugs your tooth comfortably and seamlessly, the bonding resin is exposed to ultraviolet light to cure and harden. Once dry, the dentist will shape and polish each bonded tooth’s surface to perfect its shape and feel.
Note that for longer lasting bonds that stay sparkling, be careful about your food and drink for at least two days after the procedure. That means no coffee or red wine; you don’t want to ruin that new smile. Contact us today to get your dental crown and tooth bonding services today!
