Crowns & Caps
A crown covers and protects a damaged tooth, restoring its shape and strength when a filling would not hold.
A crown — also called a cap — fits over the whole visible part of a tooth. It is used when too much of the tooth has been lost or weakened for a filling to be reliable, and its job is structural: holding the remaining tooth together so it does not split.
When a crown is needed
- A tooth that is cracked, or at risk of cracking under normal biting
- A large old filling that has failed, leaving little sound tooth around it
- A tooth after root canal treatment, which becomes more brittle
- Significant wear from grinding or acid erosion
- A tooth badly broken by decay or an accident
Crowns can be made in a laboratory over two visits, or in some cases made and fitted in a single appointment. Which is appropriate depends on the tooth.
Common questions
- How long does a crown last?
- Many last well over a decade. Longevity depends on the tooth underneath, your bite and whether you grind. The tooth beneath a crown can still decay at the margin, so it is checked at routine visits.