Dr. Hopkinson is happy to explain what exactly occurs during a crown prep. “Medical history is reviewed and any questions are answered prior to starting the procedure. Complete anesthesia is achieved to ensure a relaxing experience for the patient. A preliminary impression is taken at the beginning of the appointment to have for the purpose of making a temporary crown once the crown prep is complete. Any old restoration is removed along with any recurrent decay. A white filling is placed as a core build-up to provide a good foundation for the crown. The broken down tooth is then carefully prepared to allow clearance for the crown. A smooth and accurate margin of tooth structure is obtained that the crown will meet up perfectly with. A scan is then taken with our iTero intraoral scanner. This scan accurately captures the crown preparation, the teeth next to the crown preparation, and your bite. The scan is even more accurate than a traditional impression. A temporary crown is fabricated from the initial impression. The temporary crown is cemented with temporary cement to allow us to get the temporary off easily when the permanent crown comes back from the lab.”

“The scan is then sent digitally to our high- end lab that will use advanced CAD/CAM technology to design and mill the crown to the exact specifications desired. The crown is finally custom stained to match your other natural teeth. The custom work at the lab takes approximately 2 weeks. At your permanent crown delivery appointment (~2 weeks after the crown prep appointment), we will remove your temporary crown and clean any temporary cement off of the preparation. Sometimes anesthetic is required if the tooth is sensitive but many times our patients do just fine without anesthetic at the delivery appointment. The dental crown fit is verified and your bite (occlusion) is checked. The crown is then cemented with a permanent cement. Excess cement is removed and your bite is once again confirmed We will review any post-operative instructions with you and answer any questions you may have. A well designed, quality dental crown will provide many years of reliable service.”