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When you’ve made the decision to replace a missing tooth with a dental implant, the implant crown represents the final and most visible component of your restoration. At Naylor Family Dental and Implant Center in Las Vegas, Dr. Naylor and our experienced team provide expertly crafted implant crowns that complete your dental implant treatment with natural-looking, fully functional results.
Understanding how implant crowns work and what to expect during the restoration process helps ensure you’re fully prepared for this final step in your dental implant journey. Our practice combines advanced technology with personalized care to deliver implant crowns that seamlessly integrate with your natural smile while providing years of reliable function.
An implant crown serves as the visible, functional portion of your dental implant restoration. While the implant itself acts as an artificial tooth root anchored in your jawbone, the crown provides the chewing surface and aesthetic appearance that replaces your natural tooth. This crown attaches to the implant through a connecting piece called an abutment.
Unlike traditional crowns that cover damaged natural teeth, implant crowns are specifically designed to attach to dental implants. This unique design requires precise engineering to ensure proper fit, optimal function, and long-lasting stability. The crown must distribute chewing forces appropriately while maintaining the health of surrounding teeth and gum tissues.
Implant crowns offer several advantages over other tooth replacement options. Unlike dental bridges, which require preparation of adjacent healthy teeth, implant crowns preserve the integrity of neighboring teeth. They also provide superior stability compared to partial dentures, eliminating concerns about slipping or movement during eating and speaking.
For patients who have undergone bone grafting or implant preparation procedures, the implant crown represents the culmination of their treatment journey, transforming their carefully planned implant into a fully functional tooth replacement.
The method used to attach your implant crown plays an important role in both the functionality and long-term maintenance of your restoration.
Screw-retained implant crowns attach directly to the implant through a screw that passes through the crown and into the implant fixture. This design offers several advantages, including easy retrievability for maintenance or repairs and excellent retention strength. The access hole for the screw is typically filled with tooth-colored composite material to maintain aesthetics.
This attachment method is often preferred for posterior teeth, where access is easier and the small access hole is less visible. Screw retention also allows for easier crown removal if future maintenance or adjustments become necessary.
Cement-retained crowns attach to an abutment that is first secured to the implant with a screw. The crown is then cemented onto this abutment, similar to how traditional crowns are cemented onto natural teeth. This method often provides superior aesthetics since there’s no access hole visible on the crown surface.
Cement retention is frequently chosen for front teeth where aesthetics are paramount. The seamless appearance achieved with cement retention makes these crowns virtually indistinguishable from natural teeth.
Selecting the right material for your implant crown involves balancing strength, aesthetics, and durability to meet your specific needs.
All-ceramic implant crowns provide exceptional aesthetics and are particularly popular for front teeth replacements. Modern ceramic materials offer excellent strength while maintaining the translucency and surface texture of natural tooth enamel. These crowns can be precisely color-matched to your existing teeth, creating seamless integration with your natural smile.
Ceramic crowns are also metal-free, making them ideal for patients with metal sensitivities or those who prefer completely biocompatible restorations. The absence of metal eliminates any possibility of gray lines appearing at the gum line over time.
These crowns combine the strength of a metal substructure with the aesthetic appeal of porcelain. The metal core provides exceptional durability, while the porcelain overlay ensures a natural appearance. This combination makes them an excellent choice for back teeth that must withstand significant chewing forces.
Zirconia represents one of the strongest ceramic materials available for dental restorations. These crowns offer exceptional durability while maintaining excellent aesthetic properties. Zirconia crowns are particularly well-suited for patients who grind their teeth or have heavy bite forces.
The strength of zirconia allows for thinner crown walls, which can be advantageous in cases where space is limited. This material also demonstrates excellent biocompatibility and resistance to wear.
Creating your custom implant crown involves several carefully coordinated steps to ensure optimal fit and function.
Before your implant crown can be placed, your dental implant must complete the osseointegration process. This healing period typically takes three to six months, during which the implant fuses with your jawbone to create a stable foundation for your crown. Some patients may receive a temporary crown during this healing period to maintain aesthetics and function.
Once your implant has fully integrated, the crown fabrication process begins with precise impressions. Dr. Naylor may use traditional impression materials or advanced digital scanning technology to capture the exact position and orientation of your implant. These impressions also record the shape and position of surrounding teeth to ensure your crown fits perfectly within your bite.
The design phase involves careful consideration of crown shape, size, and color to match your natural teeth. Advanced CAD/CAM technology may be used to design your crown with exceptional precision, ensuring optimal fit and function.
Before final placement, your implant crown undergoes careful evaluation for proper fit, bite alignment, and aesthetics. Dr. Naylor will check the crown’s contact with adjacent teeth, verify proper emergence profile from the gum tissue, and ensure comfortable chewing function.
Any necessary adjustments are made at this stage to optimize comfort and function. The crown’s color and surface texture are also evaluated to ensure seamless integration with your natural smile.
Once all adjustments are complete, your implant crown is permanently attached to your implant. Whether using screw retention or cement retention, Dr. Naylor ensures secure attachment while maintaining easy access for future maintenance if needed.
Final bite adjustments may be made after placement to ensure comfortable function and proper distribution of chewing forces. You’ll receive specific instructions for caring for your new implant crown and maintaining optimal oral health.
Implant crowns can serve as focal points in comprehensive smile makeovers. For patients replacing front teeth, careful attention to color, shape, and size ensures the implant crown enhances rather than detracts from your overall smile aesthetics.
When multiple implants are placed, crown design becomes even more critical to ensure harmonious integration. Dr. Naylor considers factors like gum line symmetry, tooth proportions, and bite relationships to create naturally beautiful results.
For patients interested in additional cosmetic improvements, we can coordinate your implant crown treatment with services like teeth whitening or veneers on adjacent teeth to create a comprehensive smile transformation.
Some patients require more complex restoration approaches beyond single-implant crowns.
For patients missing multiple adjacent teeth, individual implant crowns may provide superior aesthetics and hygiene access compared to implant-retained bridges. Each crown can be individually designed and maintained, offering long-term advantages in terms of oral health and aesthetics.
In cases involving full mouth reconstruction, multiple implant crowns work together to restore complete oral function and aesthetics. This comprehensive approach requires careful planning to ensure proper bite relationships and optimal distribution of chewing forces.
Implant crowns represent the completion of your dental implant investment, providing the functional and aesthetic benefits you’ve been working toward. While there is an additional cost associated with the crown portion of treatment, this investment provides decades of reliable service when properly maintained.
Most dental insurance plans provide coverage for implant crowns similar to traditional crown treatments. We accept most major PPO insurance plans, including Delta Dental PPO, Cigna Dental, Aetna Dental, Guardian, Always Care, UFCW, and Unum. Our team will work with your insurance provider to maximize your benefits.
For patients seeking flexible payment options, we offer financing through CareCredit, Cherry, and Proceed Finance. These programs can help make your implant crown treatment more manageable by spreading costs over convenient monthly payments.
At Naylor Family Dental and Implant Center, Dr. Naylor specializes in creating beautiful, functional implant crowns that complete your dental implant restoration with exceptional results. Having completed his dental education at Indiana University in 2017, Dr. Naylor combines advanced techniques with personalized care to ensure your implant crown exceeds your expectations.
Ready to complete your dental implant restoration with a beautiful, functional crown? Contact Naylor Family Dental and Implant Center today by visiting our contact page to schedule your consultation and discover how an expertly crafted implant crown can restore your smile’s natural beauty and function.
