Dr. Chris Stevens Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

Digital Imaging • Porcelain Veneers • Missing Teeth • Tooth Whitening • Tooth-colored Fillings • Crowns and Onlays • Preventive Care • TMJ • Sleep Apnea

Crowns and Onlays

When a tooth is cracked, broken or weakened due to large fillings, an onlay or crown is used to restore the strength and natural appearance of the tooth.

An onlay is a custom fit man made piece of enamel that is bonded into a tooth to replace an area that is decayed, broken, or missing. Only areas weakened by decay or fractures are replaced, allowing natural tooth enamel to stay intact. Because more of the natural tooth is preserved when restoring a tooth with an onlay it is many times the preferred treatment over a crown.

Crowns can be made of a variety of materials. With all porcelain crowns there is no dark edge at the gum line. The result is a strong, natural looking tooth that matches beautifully with your existing teeth. Crowns with a metal lining and porcelain over the top are very strong and work great for molar teeth that take much of the chewing forces. Gold crowns, which can be used for molar teeth, are able to withstand heavy chewing forces and work nicely for patients that have gum disease. The gold content in the crown has the ability to keep bacterial levels low around the edges.