1. We numb the tooth in order to make you comfortable
2. We take an impression of the tooth as it is, this will serve as a matrix when we go to make the temporary crown
3. We shape the tooth for the crown, this involves removing between 0.5mm – 2mm on all sides of the top of the tooth to make room for the crown. How much we remove depends on what type of crown we’re putting on and how we need to shape the tooth in order to get the crown to stay on and give it the most strength.
4. As we’re shaping the tooth we also remove any leaky old fillings and decay that is around or under them.
5. Once all the leaky old filling and decay is removed we place a buildup. A buildup is a type of filling that will fill in the spaces where the old filling was and the decay was removed to allow us to make a good solid structure on which to put the crown.
6. We refine the shape of the tooth, checking that there is enough space for the crown, that the edges where the crown will contact the tooth (margins) are smooth, and that there are no undercuts that would make it hard to put the crown on.
7. We start making a temporary crown, using this matrix we made at the beginning of the appointment.
8. We get the area around the tooth ready for an impression, this can involve putting a small piece of cord around the tooth and placing a paste around the tooth.
9. Once ready we squirt impression material around the tooth and place a tray full if impression material in your mouth allow a few minutes for this to set up.
10. We’re really picky with the impressions, the better impression you get, the better crown you get, so if the impression isn’t perfect we will retake it.
11. Once the impression is done we finish and cement on the temporary crown with temporary cement.
Appointment 2:
1. We remove the temporary crown
2. We try the final crown on
3. We incrementally adjust the final crown as needed
4. We take an x-ray to make sure the final crown fits well
5. If it fits well we cement on the final crown
6. We remove the excess cement
7. We take a final x-ray to make sure the crown went on the way we wanted it to.
8. Done!