The dental crown: when it is necessary and what it costs

A crown comes into play when too little of a tooth is left to restore it with a filling. It encloses the ground-down tooth like a cap and gives it back its shape and chewing surface. The tooth itself is preserved – that is the decisive difference from a bridge and an implant.

When a crown is necessary

With major loss of substance through decay, after a fracture, after root canal treatment, or when an old large filling no longer stabilises the tooth. The rule of thumb: as long as a filling is still carried by healthy tooth substance, it is the smaller measure. Where the wall becomes too thin, it breaks at some point – and then the tooth often cannot be saved.

How much tooth is lost

For a crown the tooth is ground down all round by about one to two millimetres. That cannot be undone. That is why a partial crown is the alternative when only part of the tooth has to be replaced: it preserves more of your own substance.

How long it takes

Classically two appointments: grinding and taking an impression, then fitting a week later. In between you wear a temporary. Practices with their own milling unit make the crown the same day – that saves an appointment, but is not possible with every material and every finding.