Dental Crowns – The benefits of a healthy smile
Dental Crowns – A healthy smile — it makes you more confident in your interactions with other people and feel better about yourself. But did you know that there are some clear health benefits associated with having a healthy smile too? As well as helping us to eat and chew better, and to speak more clearly, having good teeth can also help to prevent a number of more serious health problems.
This is why so many patients come to us at Australian Medical Travel to learn more about dental crowns. Having tooth caps is a popular cosmetic dentistry procedure that can restore your smile and your confidence while also improving your overall oral and physical health. This is why our medical tourism packages for dental surgery are one of our most frequently requested services.
What are dental crowns?
Dental crowns (technically known as fixed prosthetic devices) are custom-made caps that are fitted over an existing tooth and which restore its appearance, strength and shape. Unlike dental veneers, which are adhered to the front surface of the tooth, a dental crown covers the tooth in its entirety.
Tooth crowns are used for a variety of reasons — to protect a broken, worn or cracked tooth, to enhance a tooth’s colour and appearance, or as a means of better spacing and positioning your teeth.
There are a number of different materials that can be used to produce dental crowns, and the choice is likely to depend on the type of tooth crown you need and for what purpose. In any case, you can expect a dental crown to have a long and effective lifespan as long as you maintain good dental hygiene routines.
Different types of dental crowns
Generally speaking, there are four main types of materials that can be used in a dental crown procedure, although within each of these categories there may also be some further variations that are available.
Ceramic dental crowns are the ones that are most commonly used for front and visible teeth because they can be coloured so as to blend in naturally with your existing teeth. The aim with a front tooth crown should ultimately be for it to be undetectable, and so this is why ceramic crowns are such a popular choice
Porcelain dental crowns are usually created with a metal ‘skeleton’ that is used to fix them onto the existing tooth. Porcelain crowns tend to be the best-fitting type as they can be very firmly attached, and so this adds to their comfort and longevity.
It is also possible to create gold dental crowns from a gold alloy, usually made with copper and other metals. Gold is effective because it is easy to mold and shape, and it will bond and adhere well with an existing tooth. Because of the eye-catching look, it can create, most people opt for a gold crown towards the back of the mouth.
Base metal alloys can also be used to create a tooth cap. These are very resistant to corrosion and are often used when only minimal work is required on the underlying tooth for a crown to be fitted. Zirconia crowns are a common choice because they are easy to work with and shape, but at the same time are especially durable.
Depending on the type of dental crown you choose and the material used, you can expect most crowns to last up to fifteen years if you maintain a healthy oral hygiene regime — or in some cases, even longer.
Once you have tooth crowns in place, there is no special dental care required beyond what you would do with natural teeth i.e., regular brushing, mouthwash, floss and interdental brushes, etc. However, it is important to understand that poor dental hygiene can ultimately reduce the lifespan and effectiveness of dental crowns.
Whichever type of crown you opt for, the aim should be to create a natural look so that your tooth caps are unnoticeable — unless you want to make a statement by opting for a bold gold crown right at the front!
How much do tooth crowns cost?
Although a dental crown procedure is a fairly common form of cosmetic dentistry, this doesn’t mean it is cheap to have done.
According to the latest research on dental costs in Australia, you can expect to pay in the region of $2,000 for a dental crown, depending on the dental surgeon you visit and which part of the country you live in.
At Australian Medical Travel, we specialise in bringing your dental crown cost down. We offer a range of dental surgery abroad packages to Thailand and Malaysia which provide you with comparable treatment and results for a significantly reduced price — in some instances, saving you upwards of $1,000 per tooth cap.
Medical travel for dental crown procedures
Get in touch with Australian Medical Travel to arrange a free dental assessment and speak to us about the range of options that are available for getting dental caps, and how we can help you to reduce the tooth crown price that you have to pay.
We partner with leading hospitals and clinics in Thailand and Malaysia, and AMT will arrange all facets of your dental treatment abroad, including making all the arrangements for the procedure, travel and accommodation, as well as accompanying you at every stage of the journey.
