Dental Crowns: When a Tooth Needs Full Coverage

In general, a tooth needs a crown when a smaller repair would not protect what is left of it. NHS guidance says crowns can be fitted where a tooth has broken, decayed or been damaged, or just to make a tooth look better. Grouping broken and damaged teeth together, and adding NHS root canal guidance, gives four situations:

• A broken or cracked tooth. NHS guidance lists a filling or a crown among the possible treatments for a chipped, broken or cracked tooth, and root canal treatment for a badly broken tooth where the nerves are exposed. The NHS advises seeing a dentist if you chip, crack or break a tooth.
• A tooth badly broken down by decay. The Cork dental hospital leaflet explains that a simple filling may then not be strong enough to withstand the force of the bite, so a crown covers the tooth and protects what remains.
• A tooth that has had root canal treatment. NHS guidance says a crown may be needed if the tooth was badly infected. A 2015 Cochrane review found too little evidence to say whether crowns or fillings are better for root-filled teeth.
• A tooth whose appearance needs improving. NHS guidance includes fitting a crown just to make a tooth look better. In general, because shaping a tooth for a crown removes tooth for good, a crown for appearance alone is weighed against options that keep more tooth, and how a crown differs from a veneer is explained in veneers and crowns compared.

In general, a tooth crown is usually made from metal, ceramic or porcelain fused to metal, according to NHS guidance. The Cork dental hospital leaflet says your dentist talks you through each type and recommends one for your particular tooth.

Each material has trade-offs, which our page on crown materials compared sets out in full.

Speak to your dentist if a crown comes off, or a temporary crown breaks or comes loose. NHS 111 Wales advises keeping a lost crown safe, taking it to the dentist, and not going to a GP, who cannot provide dental treatment. The Cork dental hospital leaflet says a broken or dislodged temporary crown should be reported to your dentist straight away. Other reasons to book include:

• a crowned tooth that becomes painful
• gums around a crown that bleed when you brush, or are painful and swollen

NHS guidance on gum disease says to ask for an urgent dentist appointment if your gums are very sore and swollen or a tooth becomes loose: call your dentist, whose answerphone may say what to do if they are closed, or call 111 for advice.

If a crown has come off, NHS 111 Wales advises, while you wait, avoiding biting hard foods with the tooth, avoiding very hot or cold food and drink, and using a sensitive toothpaste if the tooth is sensitive. If a painful tooth comes with swelling around your eye or neck, or swelling in your mouth or neck makes it hard to breathe, swallow or speak, the NHS says go to A&E. Do not drive yourself: ask someone to drive you, or call 999 and ask for an ambulance. For urgent dental care, call your dentist, or 111 if you cannot get an appointment.

Crowns sit alongside fillings, bridges and dentures among restorative treatments, and our restorative treatments page sets out the options in this section. The main page on repairing and rebuilding damaged teeth explains how restorative dentistry saves natural teeth, as distinct from replacing them with implants.