A guide to convenient, cosmetic, and highly versatile dental crowns

Welcome to our state-of-the-art practice in Byron Center, where you can enjoy comprehensive care with a twist! VanderLaan Family Dentistry has invested in the latest technologies and advanced training. Dr. Matthew VanderLaan and our team can offer many services and amenities not found in most dental offices.

With our computer-aided design and manufacturing technologies and equipment, we can rebuild a broken, decayed, severely misshapen, or otherwise damaged tooth in just one visit. We offer an array of durable crowns and other dental restorations to support your smile’s lasting comfort, health, and beauty. Furthermore, we use best-in-class software and milling tools from Glidewell, a long-time provider of industry-leading custom restorative materials, devices, and services. These characteristics add to treatment outcomes and a patient experience that cannot be matched.

Crowns at our office

Crowns stand out from other dental restorations due partly to their versatility. They fit on top of a prepared (reshaped) tooth. They can be used to preserve and protect cracked or decayed teeth where necessary and to protect teeth from further damage. They can also be used cosmetically to reshape or resize an irregularly contoured, discolored, or worn tooth.

Crowns may also be made from various dental materials, including ceramics (like porcelain) and metals (like gold). Dr. VanderLaan can discuss the benefits and disadvantages of each material based on your unique needs, characteristics, and situation. Porcelain is the most used material because it is unmatched in terms of its ability to mimic the characteristics of natural tooth enamel and its cosmetic appearance. It also resists stains well, so it is a material of choice for highly cosmetic veneers. Gold, however, is unsurpassed in strength and may be an appropriate choice for out-of-sight back teeth that bear the brunt of the force from chewing and grinding down food.

Additionally, due to our partnership with Glidewell and extensive onsite capabilities, we offer our patients options that cannot be found at other dental practices in our area and beyond. These options include BruxZir ® crowns, which are made from solid zirconia. BruxZir ® may be an ideal aesthetic and functional solution for back teeth that sustain the force from grinding and mashing food. In turn, these teeth require unparalleled strength to withstand such functions over time.

Real Patients, Real Results
Before and After Images of Patients

Multiple Crowns and Fillings

More Results

The process 

Tooth preparation is needed to create the space for the crown. All old filling material and cracks are removed from the tooth. Typically, a core build-up is bonded to the cavity space after the tooth is cleaned of all old material and decay. After this, the tooth is prepared precisely to allow for the proper space for the chosen material. Our goal is to preserve as much natural tooth structure as possible. 

After the tooth is prepared, a digital image of the tooth preparation is acquired. Using this image, we design the crown using our AI crown designing software. Once the crown has been made, it is cemented securely to the tooth. Then, you treat it like a natural tooth with lots of good brushing, flossing, and visits to our office for cleanings and check-ups. At many other dental practices, the actual fabrication of the crown is left to an outside dental lab. After returning to the dentist, it may take up to two weeks for the lab to create and cement your crown. A delicate temporary crown is also worn to protect the treatment site while the permanent one is being made.

At VanderLaan Family Dentistry, we are proud to have the expertise and tools to handle all steps of the crown process under our roof. We cannot emphasize this too much. These capabilities and investments were all made with you, our valued patient, in mind. Our process means we can prepare, design, complete, and cement your crown in just one visit. No, wait. No return trips. No annoying, prone-to-breakage temporary. 

Experience the cutting-edge, convenient, and comfortable difference in our approach to dentistry for yourself! Call (616) 288-2554 to schedule your consultation at our Byron Center, MI, office today.