When you are getting crowns do they make your teeth thinner so they can insert the crown?

My four teeth in the front are small and a little chipped and I am going to get crowns. Are they still going to have to make them thinner to have the crowns inserted?

When you are getting crowns do they make your teeth thinner so they can insert the crown?
For normal crowns, the crowns are simply put over the teeth. Crowns are generally put on to hold together a tooth which is missing too much of it's structure to be held together with a filling. You may be talking about veneers. They may have to file the tooth to make it fit properly with the veneer. Have you seen veneers that are too big and make the person look like they have ridiculously big teeth? I've noticed some celebrities who suddenly had huge teeth after getting veneers. Anna Nicole, for one.





Years ago, they did file down the teeth for what was called "caps" in those days. Caps were put on purely for looks, where crowns are to repair a tooth which is too damaged to be repaired with a filling. Caps frequently came off and left the person with a filed down fang until they could get to the dentist and get the cap put back on. Modern veneers aren't as drastic.
Reply:Yes, they will shape your teeth down to a peg-shape. Then


the crown slides down over it.
Reply:They don't make your tooth thinner unless they absolutley have to because of the crown fit.
Reply:Nope, they take them out, then put the crowns in........Sorry that you didn't brush when you were told to as a little child, now??
Reply:I just had my six front top teeth done, because they were tiny from grinding and acid reflux. My dentist chose to do the new "Lumineers" which are usually not as invasive as traditional crowns.





However, because my teeth were so small and most of the enamel gone from damage, he had the Lumineers made as crowns. The main difference between most Lumineer (veneer) applications and traiditional crowns is that Lumineers are usually placed on the surface of the existing tooth, which is healthy. The tooth has to be roughed up a little, but not ground down as is done when receiving a crown ("cap").





In my case, the crown was necessary so the smaller teeth could be completely surrounded and protected by the Lumineers. As I understand it, the dentist could have done traditional crowns, but he liked the natural look of this material used in the veneer process.





If you're specifically getting crowns, the teeth will have to be "shaped" as they call it. That means ground down. If you are simply getting veneers, they have to be etched a little so the veneers can adhere to them.





Let me share with you what a great experience it was! After shaping the teeth, the dentist added composite (you know, the white filling stuff) to the two front teeth to build them forward, and then he ground down the back of the teeth. I was scared silly of what he was doing, but what he accomplished was to move my entire bite forward so that my teeth didn't meet up exactly, which helped me stop grinding. The crown procedure has been longer than the lumineer procedure, but I would not trade it for anything!





Good luck! And I'm happy for you that you're having the procedure done, because you're worth it!