How a dental crown is placed: steps, timing and the temporary crown
A crown is placed over two or three visits within two to three weeks: shaping and a digital impression, a temporary crown, a try-in and cementation. Here is what happens at each stage, whether it hurts, how to live with a temporary crown and how to choose the right material for your tooth.
When a tooth needs a crown
A crown is placed when too little of the tooth's own walls remains for a filling or an inlay to survive chewing. Most often it is a tooth after root canal treatment, a tooth with a large old filling that is already crumbling, a cracked tooth or a badly worn tooth.
The logic is simple. A filling sits inside the tooth and pushes the walls apart when you bite, while a crown covers the tooth from above and holds it together from the outside. When the walls are thin, the crown is what protects the tooth from splitting. How a dentist chooses between a filling, an inlay and a crown is explained in inlay or filling after a root canal.
It can work the other way round too: a patient comes for a crown, but the tooth can still be restored in a less invasive way. Then we say so. There is no point in reducing a tooth when it is not needed.
What has to be done before a crown
A crown covers the tooth for years, so everything under it must be healthy. Before shaping the dentist checks three things.
The root and canals. If the X-ray shows inflammation at the root or the canals were treated poorly, they are treated first — prices and stages in how much a root canal costs.
The gums. The crown margin must sit precisely at the gum line. On inflamed gums that line changes from day to day, so if gums bleed, professional hygiene comes first.
How much of the tooth remains. If there are almost no walls left, the tooth is rebuilt first — a core build-up from UAH 2 450 — and the crown is made on top of it.
How many visits it takes
Getting a crown usually means two or three visits over two to three weeks. Between them you wear a temporary crown and live your normal life.
Visit one. Examination, an X-ray and an assessment of the root. If there is inflammation inside the tooth, the canals are treated first: a problem must not be hidden under a crown. Then the tooth is shaped for the future crown, a digital impression is taken and a temporary crown goes on.
Between visits. The dental laboratory makes the crown from the digital scan. This takes from a few days to two weeks depending on the material.
Visit two, the try-in. We check the fit, the shade and, most importantly, how the crown meets the opposite teeth. At this stage something can still be changed, and it is better to change it now than to live with it for years.
Cementation. The crown is fixed with permanent cement, the excess is removed and the bite is checked once more. Sometimes this happens at the second visit, sometimes at the third if the crown was adjusted after the try-in.
Does shaping the tooth hurt
No. A living tooth is shaped under local anaesthesia, so during the work you only feel vibration and water. A tooth after root canal treatment no longer has a nerve, so anaesthesia is often needed only for the gum.
For a day or two after the visit you may notice sensitivity to cold or mild discomfort in the gum. It is a reaction to shaping and the impression and passes on its own. If the pain grows, throbs or keeps you awake, call us: that is a reason to check the tooth.
The temporary crown: why it matters and how to live with it
A temporary crown protects the shaped tooth from cold and bacteria, keeps the space so that neighbouring teeth do not drift, and lets you chew and smile normally while the laboratory makes the permanent one.
It is fixed with temporary cement so that it can be removed easily later. So a few rules apply:
- do not chew gum, toffee or hard food on that side — nuts, rusks, bones;
- slide floss out sideways instead of pulling it up, so you do not lift the crown;
- brush that tooth as carefully as the others: the gum has to be healthy for the try-in.
If the temporary crown comes off, do not glue it. Keep it and call us; we will put it back. What to do if a permanent crown falls out is described separately: a crown fell out — what to do.
Which crown to choose: zirconia or ceramic
The choice depends on where the tooth is.
A back tooth. The main job is to withstand the load. Zirconium dioxide works here: it does not chip and copes with a strong bite. Aesthetics on the sixth or seventh tooth are hardly visible, so there is no reason to pay extra for translucency. A zirconia crown costs from UAH 7 200.
A front tooth. The load is lower and everything is visible. You need ceramics that let light through like natural enamel — eMax or pressed ceramics. An eMax crown costs from UAH 12 200, a pressed ceramic veneer from UAH 17 600.
A crown on an implant. A custom abutment and a zirconia crown: UAH 16 100 on a Megagen implant, UAH 18 200 on Straumann.
The full price breakdown is in how much a dental crown costs. Prosthetics prices are calculated at the euro rate, and the price of each stage is fixed by its prepayment.
How the shade and shape are chosen
The shade is chosen at the first visit, before shaping, while the tooth has not dried out: teeth left open for a long time get lighter, and the shade can be misjudged. The dentist matches the tooth against a shade guide and takes photos for the laboratory.
For a front tooth that is not enough: the translucency of the edge, small surface details and how the tooth looks next to its neighbours in daylight all matter. So at the try-in the crown is checked in the mirror and when you smile, not only in the chair. If you do not like the shade or shape, this is the moment to change it — after cementation it becomes a remake.
The shape of a back tooth is defined by the bite. The crown must touch the opposite teeth the way your own tooth did, neither higher nor lower. A high crown overloads the tooth and the joint, so the bite is checked both at the try-in and after cementation.
How long a crown lasts and what shortens its life
Zirconia and eMax last 10–15 years and longer with proper care. The main reason for replacement is what happens underneath: decay at the margin or gum inflammation.
That is why a crown makes professional hygiene twice a year mandatory. If you clench or grind your teeth at night, the dentist will suggest a night guard — bruxism breaks even strong materials. More about lifespan: how long a crown lasts.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to get a crown?
Usually two or three visits over two to three weeks. Between the first visit and cementation you wear a temporary crown while the laboratory makes the permanent one from a digital scan.
Can a crown be placed in one day?
A permanent laboratory crown cannot: it takes from a few days to two weeks. A temporary crown is placed on the same day the tooth is shaped.
Does getting a crown hurt?
A living tooth is shaped under anaesthesia, so it does not hurt. For a day or two afterwards you may feel sensitivity to cold, which passes on its own.
What if the temporary crown comes off?
Do not glue it. Keep the crown and call the clinic so it can be put back. A shaped tooth without a crown is sensitive and can shift.
How much does a crown cost in Dnipro?
At Houston a zirconia crown costs from UAH 7 200, eMax from UAH 12 200, and a crown on an implant UAH 16 100 or 18 200 depending on the system. The exact amount is fixed in the treatment plan after the examination.
Prosthetics on a digital workflow: crowns, veneers and restorations on implants. A “do no harm” approach that keeps as much living tooth tissue as possible.
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Need a crown?
Book a consultation: the dentist will examine the tooth, suggest the material and fix the price in your treatment plan.
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