When Would You Need a Dental Crown?
A crown covers the whole visible tooth and is cemented in place.
The tooth is numbed and shaped. You wear a temporary crown until the final one is ready.
Crowns last 5 to 15 years on average, and some last far longer.
The Canadian Dental Care Plan never covers crowns on implants.
Decay too large for a filling
A cracked tooth or one worn down by grinding
A back tooth after root canal treatment
A large old filling with little tooth left around it
A discoloured or misshapen tooth that bonding or a veneer cannot fix
Rough or broken tooth surfaces
A crown is not the answer for every damaged tooth. If enough healthy tooth is left, a filling or an onlay keeps more of it.
How Do Dental Crowns Help Protect Your Tooth?
Dental crowns protect a weak tooth because the crown takes the biting force instead of thin walls or cracks. That helps keep a heavily filled or root-treated tooth from splitting. It also gives the tooth a normal chewing shape again.
Types of Dental Crowns Offered in Vaughan
My City Dental offers five crown materials. The right one depends on the tooth, your bite and how much the crown shows when you smile.
| Material | Looks | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Metal (base alloy) | Metal colour | Strong for back teeth but visible |
| Porcelain fused to metal | Tooth-coloured outside | The porcelain can chip and wear the teeth it bites against |
| All-ceramic or all-porcelain | Closest to natural enamel | More fractures than metal-ceramic in studies, mainly on back teeth |
| Zirconia | Tooth-coloured | Strong, but layered zirconia came loose or chipped at higher rates in a 2015 review |
| Gold | Gold colour | Needs little enamel removed but shows when you talk |
What Happens During the Dental Crown Procedure?
The dental crown procedure has two parts when a lab makes the crown, with a temporary crown in between.
- Exam. The dentist examines the tooth and takes X-rays if they decide you need them after your history and exam.
- Numbing and shaping. The area is numbed so you should not feel pain during the procedure. The dentist removes decay and shapes the tooth. If a lot of tooth is missing, a core build-up (a filling) rebuilds it first.
- Scan and temporary crown. A digital scan or a physical impression records the shaped tooth. A temporary crown protects it until the final crown is ready. Cleveland Clinic puts the lab time at about two to three weeks.
- Fitting the crown. The dentist removes the temporary and checks the final crown's fit, bite and colour. Then the crown is cemented in place.
Some clinics mill a crown in one visit with an in-office CAD/CAM machine. That needs milling equipment on site. If a single visit matters to you, ask the team before you book.
What to Expect After Crown Treatment
You can go back to work or school right after a crown is placed. Sensitivity to hot and cold for a couple of weeks is common. So is a sore gum around the tooth for a few days.
These usually settle on their own. Call the clinic if they do not settle, if pain keeps you awake or if your bite feels high.
- Skip ice, hard nuts, popcorn kernels and sticky sweets with a temporary or a final crown.
- Brush twice a day and floss once a day along the gum line around the crown.
- If you grind your teeth, ask the dentist about a night guard.
- Keep regular checkups so the dentist can check the crown's edges.
What Should You Do If a Crown Breaks or Falls Off?
A broken, cracked or loose crown needs a dentist soon because the tooth under it is exposed. Call (905) 581-2228 as soon as you notice it. My City Dental offers emergency same-day care when available.
- Keep the crown in a clean, dry container and bring it with you.
- Chew on the other side and keep the area clean.
- Do not glue the crown back on yourself.
If the clinic is closed or cannot see you right away, contact another emergency dental provider. Call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department if you have trouble breathing or swallowing, swelling that spreads toward your eye or neck, fever with facial swelling, or bleeding that will not stop.
Benefits of Dental Crowns, and Their Limits
Dental crowns help you keep a damaged tooth and chew on it again. They help protect a weak tooth from breaking and improve the look of a discoloured or misshapen one.
A crown has costs too. The enamel removed to make room for it does not grow back. Cleveland Clinic also lists sensitivity in the first weeks, chips or breaks over time, decay where a crown fits poorly and, rarely, an allergy to the material.
Shaping a living tooth can also harm its nerve. If that happens, the tooth needs a root canal through the crown or a new crown.
Do You Need a Crown After a Root Canal?
A back tooth needs a crown after a root canal when its walls are thin or heavily filled. Root canal treatment cleans out the inside of a tooth. It does not rebuild the outside.
A 2002 study in the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry found that root-treated teeth left without a crown were lost at six times the rate of crowned ones. A front tooth with little damage does not need a crown in every case. The dentist decides when the tooth is ready for its crown after the root canal.
People ask which is cheaper, a root canal or a crown. The two do different jobs and many back teeth need both. Root canal fees are on the root canal therapy page.
What Is Crown Lengthening Surgery?
Crown lengthening surgery removes some gum and in some cases bone to expose more sound tooth, so a crown has enough to hold on to. A dentist suggests it when a tooth has broken or decayed below the gum line. Afterwards the gum sits higher for good, so the tooth looks longer. Expect some sensitivity for a few weeks.
It is not right for every tooth. A tooth with a short root has too little support left once bone is removed, so the dentist may advise removing it instead. The Canadian Dental Care Plan does not cover crown lengthening.
Ask the team whether crown lengthening suits your tooth. Gum procedures are explained on the gum surgery page.
How Much Does a Dental Crown Cost in Vaughan?
A porcelain or ceramic crown on a natural tooth costs about $1,200 to $2,000, based on published prices at other Vaughan and Toronto-area clinics. Your own cost comes in a written estimate after an exam.
These things move the price:
- The crown material
- A core build-up or post for a badly broken tooth
- A root canal first, which has its own fee
- Crown lengthening when the break is below the gum
- The dental lab's fee
Ask for each one as its own line on the estimate. My City Dental offers direct insurance billing. Your plan can give a predetermination before treatment. That is an estimate and not a promise of what the plan will pay.
What Is a Reasonable Cost for a Crown, and Is $2,000 Expensive?
A reasonable cost for a porcelain or ceramic crown falls inside that published range, and $2,000 sits at the high end of it. A higher quote is not wrong in itself. It can include a core build-up, a post or a more complex lab crown, so ask what each line covers before you compare.
Are Crowns Covered Under the Canadian Dental Care Plan?
Some crowns are covered under the Canadian Dental Care Plan. The CDCP Dental Benefits Guide considers a single crown for patients 18 and older with preauthorization. It does so only when the guide's tooth eligibility and restorability criteria are met.
The plan does not cover a crown done for appearance, and crowns supported by implants are excluded. Coverage depends on the service and your eligibility. My City Dental accepts the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP).
What's a Cheaper Alternative to a Crown?
A large filling or an onlay keeps more of your own tooth, as long as enough sound tooth is left to hold it. Ask for an estimate for each option that suits the tooth.
| Option | What it does | When it is the wrong choice |
|---|---|---|
| Large filling | Rebuilds part of the tooth in the chair | Little tooth is left, so the tooth can crack |
| Onlay | A lab-made piece covering one or more cusps | The damage reaches most of the tooth |
| Crown | Covers the whole tooth above the gum | Enough tooth is left for a smaller repair |
| Removing the tooth | Lowest cost on the day | You want to keep the tooth or replace it later |
Dental Crown Questions
How painful is getting a crown put on?
Getting a crown put on is done with the area numbed, so you should not feel pain during the procedure. You feel pressure and vibration as the tooth is shaped. If anything hurts, tell the dentist, who can give more anaesthetic, as Cleveland Clinic notes. Soreness afterward usually fades within days, and pain that keeps you awake is a reason to call.
Can a tooth rot under a crown?
Yes, a tooth can decay under a crown. The crown cannot decay, but the tooth at its edge near the gum can. A crown that fits poorly traps bacteria there, and you may not feel early decay. Brushing and flossing along the gum line every day help, and regular checkups let the dentist find decay while it is small.
Is it cheaper to pull a tooth or get a crown?
Pulling a tooth costs less on the day you have it done. Replacing that tooth later with a bridge or an implant costs more than a crown on the tooth you have. Some people leave a back gap empty. Before you choose, ask the dentist what a gap in that spot means for your chewing and the teeth next to it.