What is the best crown?

I have a broken bridge in the back of my mouth and a missing incisor, and loose front tooth that just recently happened from falling and knocking out my tooth. Friends keep telling me to get the new Lava crowns?? They say they are very strong. I am so lost, Please help. I am very distraught and want to find the best dentist to make my smile beautiful and natural. Thank you so much for all your help.

Gratefully,
Arleen from Michigan

Arleen,
Where you are in Michigan, unfortunately, you don’t have any really excellent cosmetic dentists that are too close, but if you’re willing to drive a little, there is an excellent one (name withheld).

And yes, the new Lava crowns are strong, but, while it is an all-ceramic crown, it isn’t the nicest looking esthetically, at least not in every situation. Whether that would be the best crown for your tooth would depend on the clinical situation. I would discourage you from picking the type of crown, because there are many factors that go into selecting the crown type, and no one crown is the best for every clinical situation. Additionally, Lava is only one brand of a new type of crown which is feldspathic porcelain baked over a zirconia framework. It is much better to find a dentist you trust and then allow him or her to recommend the type of crown that would be best for your situation, and also one the dentist is comfortable with.

For example, in our office, Dr. Newkirk works with a master ceramist who is so talented he can even make porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns look natural. In the hands of most ceramists, that type of crown looks opaque and fake, but he can create illusions that make them look translucent. The point is that the material that works the best in the hands of one dentist and one laboratory technician may not work the best in the hands of a different dentist. So pick the dentist that you know will do beautiful work and that you can trust. That’s the key.

This blog is sponsored by Naperville dentist Dr. David Newkirk