A dental crown in New Market has to be made to the exact measurements of your tooth. Color is also important. The crown must have the same general color that you have on your other teeth.

Since a dental crown is going to be a permanent thing, you must have extremely strong crowns.

I stress to my lab technicians that they should pay close attention to this. They will go out of their way to ensure that what we're going to attach to your teeth are durable and can last years and years. That is something that makes me really happy — that a porcelain crown lasts a long time, enhances your looks and performs just like one of your real teeth.

However, I should let you know that the procedure isn't over in one day. After your first visit, we must have time to produce what would be the permanent crown.

The tooth that is affected also needs to be geared up for the porcelain crown to be placed on it. This involves filing down some of your original tooth material. It doesn't mean we are giving you a half-finished tooth. You still need to eat and still smile as if nothing has happened. So we put in a temporary crown.

Here in my New Market dental office, we will make sure the makeshift crown you have is very sturdy. You can be sure that it would perform for many weeks, probably even a month. During this time, we will be working on your real crown. The makeshift crown, though, must be soft enough to be pulled out. You should not have a stop-gap crown that is fixed so firmly that I might have a tough time wrenching it out.

When we fabricate your crown, the first thing to do is make a cast of your tooth and also of the tooth opposite of it. We do this as a favor to you so you can go on eating the tasty variety of foods that you are probably keen on.

With the two impressions, we can make perfectly evened teeth. This is to let you chew to your heart's content. The next stage involves the mold. This is where is put the crown matter so the temporary crown can fit on your tooth almost exactly. Then, it is time for attaching the temp with a dental cement that keeps the crown firmly fixed but is also easily removed.

I would advise you, though, to avoid chewing hard stuff, such as caramels, or crunch on ice. I would even say avoid carrots. Just for the time while my lab team finishes their work with the permanent crown. I hope to visit with you soon.