The prospect of getting dental crowns often raises concerns about whether the restoration will blend seamlessly with your existing smile. Modern dental technology and advanced materials make it possible to create crowns virtually indistinguishable from your natural teeth. Through careful color matching, texture replication, and precise fabrication techniques, today’s crowns can enhance your smile while maintaining complete natural appearance.
At Sopris Smiles, Englewood cosmetic dental specialist prioritize creating restorations that not only restore function but also preserve the natural beauty of your smile. Our advanced CEREC digital scanning technology and meticulous attention to detail ensure your crown matches your existing teeth so precisely that even you may forget which tooth was restored.
Dental crowns require precise color matching to blend invisibly with surrounding teeth. Natural teeth contain multiple color layers and subtle variations that must be replicated for seamless integration. Modern shade guides include hundreds of color variations, allowing us to identify the exact hue, saturation, and brightness of your natural teeth.
Digital photography and specialized lighting help capture your teeth’s true colors under different conditions. Your teeth may appear slightly different in various lighting environments, so we evaluate color matching under multiple light sources to ensure your crown looks natural in all situations.
The crown fabrication process involves layering different porcelain shades to replicate your natural tooth’s depth and translucency. Surface staining and glazing techniques add final details that mirror the subtle characteristics of your existing teeth, creating restorations that blend flawlessly with your smile.
Beyond color, natural teeth have unique surface textures, ridges, and subtle imperfections that contribute to their authentic appearance. Modern crown materials can be shaped and finished to replicate these fine details, ensuring your restoration doesn’t stand out due to an overly uniform or artificial surface.
Our technology allows us to capture precise digital impressions that record not just tooth shape but also surface texture details. This information guides the crown fabrication process, ensuring your restoration mirrors the natural characteristics of your existing teeth.
Porcelain materials can be manipulated during fabrication to create natural-looking surface variations. These subtle details, from tiny ridges to gentle curves, help your crown reflect light the same way your natural teeth do, contributing to seamless integration with your smile.
Proper crown sizing ensures natural-looking proportions within your smile. Crowns that are too large or small relative to surrounding teeth will appear obvious, regardless of color accuracy. Our digital planning process evaluates the relationship between your crown and adjacent teeth to achieve harmonious proportions.
Tooth shape varies significantly between individuals and even between teeth in the same mouth. Your canines have different contours than your molars, and your front teeth display unique characteristics that contribute to your smile’s personality. Custom crown fabrication replicates these individual traits for authentic results.
Age-related changes in natural teeth also influence crown design. Older patients may prefer crowns that reflect the natural wear patterns and slight color changes that occur over time, while younger patients typically want restorations that match their brighter, less worn natural teeth.
Different crown materials offer varying degrees of natural appearance. All-porcelain crowns provide the most lifelike translucency and color depth, making them ideal for front teeth where aesthetics are paramount. These materials interact with light similarly to natural tooth enamel, creating convincing restorations.
Porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns offer durability with good aesthetics, though the metal core can sometimes create a slight grayish appearance at the gum line. For back teeth where function is the primary concern, these crowns provide excellent service while maintaining acceptable appearance.
Zirconia crowns combine strength with improving aesthetics. Modern zirconia materials offer better translucency than earlier versions, making them suitable for both front and back teeth where durability and natural appearance are both important factors.
If you have multiple crowns, veneers, or other restorations, new crown color matching becomes more complex. We must consider not just your natural teeth but also your existing dental work to ensure consistent appearance across your entire smile.
Sometimes achieving the best overall aesthetic result requires updating multiple restorations simultaneously. This comprehensive approach ensures uniform color and appearance throughout your smile, rather than trying to match a single crown to teeth of varying shades and conditions.
Digital smile design technology allows us to preview potential results before beginning treatment. This planning process helps ensure your new crown integrates perfectly with your existing teeth and any other planned restorations for optimal overall aesthetics.
Temporary crowns serve as previews for your final restoration’s appearance and function. While not as precisely matched as permanent crowns, temporary restorations should provide reasonable aesthetics during the fabrication period for your custom crown.
Feedback during the temporary crown phase helps refine the final restoration’s appearance. If you notice any aspects of size, shape, or color that could be improved, this information guides adjustments to your permanent crown before completion.
Most patients wear temporary crowns for one to two weeks while their custom restoration is fabricated. Proper care of your temporary crown ensures your gums remain healthy for optimal permanent crown placement and appearance.
Natural teeth may gradually change color over time due to aging, dietary factors, or other influences. High-quality crown materials maintain their color stability for many years, though they don’t respond to whitening treatments like natural teeth do.
If you’re considering teeth whitening, it’s often best to complete this treatment before crown placement. This ensures your crown can be matched to your newly whitened natural teeth for long-term color harmony throughout your smile.
Regular professional cleanings help maintain both your natural teeth and crown restorations, preventing staining that could create color discrepancies over time. These appointments also allow us to monitor your crown’s appearance and function.
Transform your smile with perfectly matched dental crowns. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and discover how we can restore your teeth while maintaining complete natural appearance. Our team at Sopris Smiles combines advanced technology with artistic skill to create restorations that enhance both function and beauty in your smile.
Sopris Smiles is thrilled to welcome the patients of Dr. Gregory Bevans
