Want a quick and lasting way to improve the health, appearance, and function of your smile? At our St. Louis, MO, office, Drs. Jeffery and Jodi Johnson deliver same-day dental crowns, the modern way to completely restore an injured, decayed, or infected tooth. Read below to learn how the crown process works and how this restoration will help you both keep your tooth and make it look great again.

Do you need a crown?

A dental crown protects and supports a tooth that has a limited healthy structure above the gum line. Some people need crowns after root canal therapy, to cap the tooth after receiving a filling, or to fix a tooth that is so oddly shaped it doesn't fit in with the rest of the smile.

Dr. Johnson will look at your tooth and take digital X-rays to see if it's healthy enough to receive a crown. If it is, you can look forward to keeping your tooth and avoiding the problems extraction causes such as an obvious gap, bone and gum recession, and a shifting of neighboring teeth.

The process of receiving a porcelain crown

Anticipate a one-to-two-hour restoration process from start to finish. Yes, modern CAD/CAM processes (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) now allow your dentists to design, create, and place your new crown right in their St. Louis, MO, office. Called CEREC restorations (Chairside Economical Restorations of Esthetic Ceramic), these crowns (and partial crowns called inlays and onlays) are perfectly configured and have an accurate fit and bite.

Throughout your treatment, you'll be comfortable and relaxed; you can even see your porcelain crown milled right in the treatment room. Oral impressions, negative imprints of your tooth, are taken digitally; so you won't have to deal with gooey impression putty.

Your dentist will remove the damaged portions of your tooth and shape it so that it accepts the crown. When the crown is ready, Dr. Johnson may enhance the color and sheen a bit and then bond the crown directly onto your tooth. An inlay resides between the cusps of a tooth, and an onlay fits over the entire top of the tooth. Both types of partial crowns blend seamlessly with the rest of the tooth.

Explore a renewed smile

You don't have to live with a weak, failing tooth. Dr. Jeffery Johnson and Dr. Jodi Johnson want to help. Call their general/family dental practice today to arrange your consultation: (314) 427-7400.