Procera® Crowns

What is a Dental Crown?

A tooth-shaped "cap" placed by a dentist on a tooth is called a dental crown. It covers the tooth to restore form, size, and strength and makes it look better.

Types of crowns include:

• Porcelain-fused-to-metal
• Ceramic
• Metal
• Alloys such as steel
• Resin

Ceramic is inorganic material made of clay and earthen materials. Water is added to give ceramic any desired shape. Ceramics can best imitate the appearance of natural teeth, but they used to have certain drawbacks:

• Ceramic crowns were fragile and mechanically unreliable
• The time required to process a ceramic crown was higher as compared to metal or alloy

Porcelain fused to metal crowns are popularly used as they provide stability and have a reasonably good appearance, however the outer layer of porcelain can wear away and the metal base may react unfavourably with tissue.

What is a Procera Crown?

The Procera crown is an all-ceramic dental crown made of alumina of high purity and coated by porcelain. With advances in dental materials and technology and an increased focus on aesthetics, high-quality all-ceramic crowns such as Procera have been developed to meet the demands of appearance, function, and durability.

Procedure for Placing a Procera Crown

Your dentist first obtains imaging studies and impressions of your teeth. The tooth is then prepared to receive the crown using a hand-held device and burs of appropriate size and shape. A mould of the prepared tooth is obtained and the precise tooth shade is selected. A model of the tooth is obtained from the mould and a temporary crown is prepared. The model then undergoes a scanning process and with the help of computer software and special laboratory procedures a well-fitting, natural-appearing permanent crown is prepared. The temporary crown is removed, and the permanent crown is fixed with dental cement.

Advantages of Procera

The advantages of using Procera crowns include:

• Well-fitted crowns designed and fabricated with the help of 3D computer software
• More natural appearance
• Highly wear resistant
• Biocompatible with a low risk of allergic reaction