A crown is a tooth-shaped cap that is placed over the entire visible portion of your tooth. It’s a permanent solution for a damaged tooth and once it’s fixed in place, a crown will look, feel and function just like any other tooth.
Crowns are usually needed if you have a damaged or weakened tooth that cannot be fixed with a filling. Sometimes crowns are needed because of aesthetic considerations but mainly it’s due to a lack of remaining tooth structure. Most commonly this is because a tooth has had a large filling or has sustained a fracture.
Crowns can be made from ceramic (such as porcelain), metal (gold or metal alloy), or a combination of both. The latest advances in ceramics mean that porcelain crowns are indistinguishable from your own natural teeth.