Crowns are generally meant to be used in three circumstances.
- To protect endodontically or root canal treated teeth. After root canal treatment, teeth become very fragile and are prone to fracture. Crowns minimize the chance of fracture.
- Heavily restored teeth or teeth with large fillings. The remaining tooth structure is prone to fracture due to the size of the fillings.
- Cracks in a tooth, if contained in the crown of the tooth, can be protected by using a crown. In this case patients usually complain of pain on biting, particularly when they bite in a specific direction with a certain type of food.
- Eshthetics of patient’s front teeth. In this case patients are unhappy with the shape/color/shade of their front teeth, or if there is mild spacing or crowding, crowns can be used to correct these issues.
