Hearing that you need a crown can land badly, especially if your first thought is that the tooth is beyond saving. Usually the opposite is true. A crown is the treatment we reach for precisely because the tooth can still be saved.
A crown is how we avoid an extraction
At Smile Arts Dental, Dr. Alex Balaban starts from a simple principle: keep the natural tooth whenever possible. When a tooth has been badly damaged by disease or physical trauma, a dental crown is often what makes keeping it realistic. The crown covers and protects what remains of the natural tooth, so extraction stays off the table.
If a crown sounds like a big procedure, that feeling is common, and it is exactly what our Fear-Less Dentistry approach exists for. Knowing what will happen, and when, takes much of the dread out of it. So here is the whole timeline, plainly.
The first visit: preparing the tooth
At your first appointment, Dr. Balaban prepares the natural tooth to receive its restoration and takes impressions of it. Those impressions go to a dental lab, where your crown is custom made to fit your tooth and match your smile. Because the lab does careful work on your behalf, the finished crown usually arrives a few weeks later.
We would rather tell you that honestly than promise a shortcut. A crown at our practice takes two visits, and the wait between them is the lab making sure the crown that goes in your mouth is the one that belongs there.
Between visits: living with a temporary
While the lab works, a temporary crown protects the prepared tooth. Two things are worth knowing about temporaries. They are weaker than the permanent crown that replaces them, and they can occasionally come loose, which may cause some sensitivity. Neither is an emergency. If your temporary loosens or simply feels odd, call us at (317) 575-1995 and we will take care of it. It is a placeholder doing a placeholder’s job.
The second visit: your permanent crown
When your crown comes back from the lab, you return for the second appointment and Dr. Balaban places it. From that point on, the crowned tooth looks and works like the rest of your smile, and the natural tooth underneath stays protected for the long run.
If you are still weighing whether a crown is the right call for your situation, our post on what a dental crown is and when you need one walks through the signs in more detail.
Complete care, on your schedule
Smile Arts Dental provides complete dental care in Carmel, from crowns to cosmetic dentistry to routine exams. We keep treatment affordable and convenient, we accept most insurance plans, and we welcome walk-ins. If a damaged tooth has been on your mind, request an appointment and let Dr. Balaban show you what saving it would look like.
This article is for general education only and is not a substitute for professional dental advice. For guidance about your own smile, talk with your dentist.