As we get older, our back teeth weaken due to heavy grinding and/or large silver fillings. The classic treatment to protect these teeth from breaking has always been a crown. This procedure requires grinding down the entire tooth and fitting a crown that ends either at or below the gum line over the tooth stub. Crowns are difficult to keep clean since the crown/tooth interface is below the gum line and can be susceptible to decay.

Cosmetic bonding technology, which has been available for over 30 years, now enables us to be far less invasive in treating vulnerable teeth. A fairly new and far more cosmetic procedure, called a Porcelain Onlay, removes only the damaged part of the tooth (such as old filling, fracture lines and decay) and uses the remaining healthy tooth structure as a bonding surface.

Imagine putting a new top on a tooth but leaving the healthy sides intact. The onlay/tooth interface, in most cases, is now well above the gum line, easily cleanable, much less apt to decay and much healthier for the gums. A fantastic improvement over the classic crowns!

When it becomes necessary to make a new crown (either to replace an old one or due to tooth decay/fracture), the classic crown has traditionally been made of metal or gold alloy covered in porcelain for aesthetics. The problem however, was that in many cases, classic crowns still remained unaesthetic despite these efforts. Porcelain covered metal can look dead white, have very little translucence or it may allow metal to show through (that gray line at the gum line that can make crowns look so ugly).

Advanced dental technology has provided us with stunning alternatives to this old procedure – all-porcelain crowns. We are able to create beautiful crowns that mimic your natural teeth in terms of shade, translucence and vitality. And since we use high-level digital photography to capture the shade of your teeth, you can experience a beautiful, natural crown every time.