 Good morning everybody, Andrea Mayesca here at Dental Mobile Hygiene. Let's talk about crowns today. So crowns or caps So what are they? Why would you need one and how you can prevent yourself from getting one? So I will be talking about a couple of those things today. So basically a crown or a cap Pretty much means that we are putting a piece of porcelain or metal over the actual tooth To protect it. So to make the tooth a lot stronger. So a lot of people think So you're just putting metal over my tooth. That's not gonna look very nice. Is it? Well, it looks exactly like your tooth So the person who's looking at you wouldn't be able to tell that that's not not your tooth and that that's an actual crown There are different shades though of a crown So if you opt for a full metal crown so either it looks silver or gold Then yes, people would be able to tell that that's not your natural tooth But we do also have a porcelain crown That we can match for it to be the same shade as the rest of your teeth now Porcelain isn't as strong as a full metal crown So if you need a very very strong crown, which some people do if they're for example clenching their teeth at night or They just have a very deep deep bite. So if you've ever been told Oh, well, you're starting to wear down most of your teeth Then that probably means that you have a deep bite and a full metal crown is probably the best option for you But but the nice thing is is that these days you can have a full metal crown With porcelain over top so that over top of that tooth layer is Porcelain and that can match the rest of your teeth So even if we tell you that you have a deep bite and that you do need this You know strongest crown possible then you can have a full metal crown that looks like your Teeth that has the same shade as the rest of your teeth So people often need crowns because they may have a cavity that is so large That we might put either an amalgam or a compass it Filling in there But if the tooth is that large where there's not a lot of enamel left Then that tooth can chip easily and we don't want that because once a tooth Chips We would obviously have to fix up that chip tooth, right? But sometimes we can only do so much so if the if we tell you that your tooth has a very good chance of Chipping or cracking that it is a good idea to put a crown over top of that whole tooth So that doesn't happen because crowns are amazing because as I said it goes over the entire tooth You don't have to worry about it. You know chipping cracking nothing So it's kind of like it's it's protecting your entire tooth where you don't have to worry about it pretty much If you have a tooth that has a root canal in it You should have a crown over top of that because once a tooth has been root canal it's a very very weak tooth and You don't want that tooth to all of a sudden chip or crack And if it cracks too much, we can't actually fix the tooth if it cracks below the gum line We have nothing to attach onto it if that makes sense So if it cracks below the gum line then we have to take out the rest of the tooth And you don't want that especially after you've had a root canal spent all of that money to save the tooth You want to keep that tooth how it is So you should have a cap or a crown over top of it to protect that entire tooth And then you don't have to worry about it anymore Other reasons what I have seen that people need crowns is if they have a very very deep Bite and their teeth are starting to wear down so much so that they're now in a lot of pain because anytime they they Clench I guess is the word that I'm looking for anytime they clench all of that pressure is Continuing to be on the back teeth and that can cause pain So where you are clenching the most it's a good idea to put a crown or two on those teeth So you're clenching on the actual crown, but not your tooth If that makes sense, we don't do that as often because typically if somebody is clenching We would have to put crowns on all of the back teeth top or bottom because people clench on their back teeth And that's expensive. Is that really necessary? Perhaps not a Nightguard makes more sense in that case so that if you are clenching You are clenching on a nightguard and not your actual tooth because did you know That when you are clenching at night or during the day that is 300 pounds of pressure Imagine 300 pounds of pressure constantly That can make the um ligaments around the teeth very very sore. So you don't want that so typically crowns are for if you've had a large cavity in the past where Us having to take the cavity out. You don't have a lot of your natural tooth structure left It's a good idea to put a crown over top So if the so you don't have to worry about the the tooth now cracking or chipping because it's not your natural tooth Or if you've had a root canal, it's a good idea to put a crown over top of the tooth after that So then you don't risk chipping a now weak tooth because you want to save the teeth as much As possible. Trust me. And yes crowns can be expensive. There's a there are about $800 to $1,000 a tooth depending on What tooth it is and the type of crown that you will make But that you know means so much more than having to take the tooth out because then you don't have a tooth And you have other problems, you know eating won't be as easy and once a tooth is missing the teeth shift forward and then Give it a couple years. You will not be able to bite down properly. You will be eating you will be Chewing your food and you can't really bite down properly once that happens once all of the teeth shift You have bigger problems and you don't want that either. So a crown is actually a Lesser expensive option than having the tooth pulled. So I hope that helped you guys if you have any questions though Please let me know about caps crowns anything. I am more than happy to talk about it And thank you guys so much for watching