How Many Appointments Are Needed to Get My Dental Crowns?

You are considering dental crowns to restore one or more of your teeth. You would like to know how many appointments to expect before scheduling the procedure. It takes two visits to prepare and fit crowns. Get details about what happens at each visit.

Procedure for dental crowns

The crown process includes preparing the teeth, fabricating the restoration and placing the crown. The entire process is broken up into two visits. Find out what to expect during each appointment.

The first appointment

During the first appointment, the dentist prepares the tooth for the crown. The tooth must be shaped before a crown is placed, and this includes removing the damaged area and some of the healthy tooth structure. The amount of structure removed depends on the location of the tooth and the material to be used for the crown. Dentists remove up to 75 percent of the tooth and usually remove more than 60 percent at a minimum. If there is not enough healthy tooth structure to support the crown, the dentist will use filling material to build it up. Then the dentist takes an impression of the tooth and sends it to a dental lab to make a customized restoration. The dentist cements a temporary crown in place to protect the tooth. The dentist will provide care instructions for the temporary crown. This first appointment can take up to 90 minutes. However, many patients are done in less than an hour. The length of time depends on the patient’s needs. For example, those who need to have their teeth built back up can expect to stay longer than an hour.

The second appointment

It takes approximately two weeks for a dental laboratory to fabricate dental crowns and send the restorations back to the dentist office. Patients return to the office when the crown is ready. The dentist begins by removing the temporary crown and cleaning the cement off the tooth. Then the dentist evaluates the fit of the crown. It is placed on the tooth, and the dentist uses tools to check the fit. The dentist also might floss between the crown and the other teeth to ensure it has a proper fit. If the crown does not fit properly, the dentist will use a drill to fix it. The fit will be checked again. This process is repeated until the crown fits properly. The dentist then bonds the crown to the tooth using dental cement. This usually takes around 20 minutes to complete. However, it can take 30 minutes or longer if the dentist needs to make several changes to get the proper fit.

Do you need dental crowns?

If you need a crown, you will need to make two appointments. Your dentist will shape your tooth during the first appointment and take an impression. Once the crown comes in, you will go back to get it fitted and placed. Your dentist will make sure the crown does not impact your bite and fits comfortably in your mouth. Then you will go home with your new crown. Request an appointment here: https://www.smilebeautification.com or call Rolando Cibischino D.M.D. at (201) 204-1355 for an appointment in our Hackensack office.

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