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Since 1985, we have maintained our in-house dental laboratory in our practice to establish effective control of the esthetics, the precision fit, and the most optimal bite for our patients’ crowns. With our technician working chairside with our patients, he is able to create a natural looking tooth as he applies the inherent color in the lower layers of the porcelain, which mimics the 3D look of natural teeth. In essence, the color of the tooth comes from its dentin that is underlying the more translucent enamel, and shading the porcelain in this manner provides a more natural “glow” to the crown, which simply cannot be achieved with just surface staining the porcelain to match the adjacent teeth.  In addition, many crowns lack the proper translucency as the technician avoids making “errors” when fabricating the crown. The proper combination of internal coloration and the right translucency, in turn, is difficult to create without the technician actually seeing the patient.  Even the best of the commercial laboratories cannot provide this customized service. The following case is an example of the most difficult tooth to restore, the single central incisor crown, wherein the internal color and the translucency have to perfectly match the natural tooth next to it, which is on the midline, to boot. To see other examples of vibrant esthetics see our cosmetic portfolio.

A veneer needing replacement with a crown

About the Author

Dr. Gerald Marlin is a Washington D.C. specialist in implant, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry.

G Marlin