Dental Crowns Vs. Dental Cap: What Should You Know?

If you visit your dentist with a severely decayed or damaged tooth, they will likely recommend that you have the tooth encased with a dental crown to restore its strength, appearance, and functionality. However, you might also listen to the dentist intermittently referring to the dental crown as a dental cap and wonder whether differences exist between the two.

Dental crowns are occasionally referred to as dental caps or tooth caps by dental professionals because they are designed to fit like a hat over your tooth. Please do not consider them similar to dental veneers that merely cover the front surfaces of your teeth. In stark contrast, dental caps encase your entire damaged or decayed tooth for protection, as described earlier.

What Are Dental Crowns and Dental Cap?

A dental crown, alternatively called a dental cap, is a dental restoration that fits over your remaining tooth restoring its natural appearance and protecting it from additional damage. However, there are no differences between the two because both serve the same purposes.

Your tooth might need a dental crown or cap for strength and support when significant tooth structure is missing and needs protection. Dental caps are helpful in many situations and even help cover severely discolored teeth for cosmetic reasons.

If you have recently undergone root canal therapy, the treatment renders your tooth fragile and prone to damage, and breakage requires protection from a dental crown. In addition, if you have missing teeth, dental crowns help support dental bridges and implants. Whether the restoration supports your natural tooth or helps replace missing teeth, its name does not change because dentists continue referring to it as dental crowns or dental caps.

What Material Helps Make Dental Caps?

Various materials help make dental caps, and the most common are metals, ceramic, porcelain fused metal, gold, et cetera. When getting dental caps to protect your teeth, you will likely receive a temporary crown after the dentist in Highland Village prepares your tooth to restore it. The temporary crowns are generally made from composite or acrylic material.

Are Temporary Crowns Good?

When you decide to get dental caps to protect your tooth, you must schedule at least two appointments with the Highland Village dentist. During your first visit, your tooth is examined for infections and tooth decay before starting the preparation process.

You receive local anesthesia near the affected tooth as the dentist providing the dental crown in Highland Village, TX, starts filing your tooth from the tops and sides to accommodate the dental cap. After reshaping your tooth, impressions of the tooth and the teeth above or below are taken to ensure the new restoration will not impact your bite.

The impressions are forwarded to the dental laboratory to customize your dental cap. The dentist provides you with a temporary crown made from acrylic or composite to protect the prepared tooth until your permanent restoration is ready.

Temporary crowns are not as durable as permanent caps. They are merely an interim protective measure for your tooth to ensure it does not sustain additional damages while waiting for the permanent cap. Therefore the dentist recommends you care for the temporary crown appropriately for the duration you must wait until you get your permanent crown.

Three weeks down the line, you can revisit the dentist to have the temporary crown removed and the permanent restoration placed over your tooth. So long as you care for the temporary crown in your mouth, you will not likely confront any challenges until you receive the permanent dental cap or the prepared tooth.

Caring for Dental Crowns or Caps

Dental caps are durable restorations lasting for a decade or more without requiring special attention. The Highland Village dentist recommends you brush and floss your teeth as usual and refrain from biting hard foods with the dental cap to prevent damage, especially if you have a front tooth restored.

You must maintain excellent dental hygiene routines ensuring that you don’t allow plaque buildup around your teeth and the crowned tooth. You must remember the underlying tooth is natural and is prone to infections like tooth decay which develops from dental plaque. Therefore besides maintaining excellent dental hygiene regimens, you must also get six-monthly exams and cleanings to prevent infections in your mouth and help your restored tooth remain in optimal shape. As for the dental crown, you must refrain from detrimental mouth-related habits like chewing on ice, biting fingernails, or opening packages with your teeth to prevent damage to the dental crown.

Campbell & Williams Family Dental provides dental caps to restore decayed, damaged, or missing teeth. Please schedule an appointment with this practice if you need dental restorations to protect your tooth.