What Are Tooth Caps? Dental Crowns Explained

"Tooth cap" is the everyday name for a dental crown. Dentists say crown, most patients say cap, and they mean the same thing: a made-to-measure cover that fits over the whole visible part of a tooth, down to the gum line, so a weakened or damaged tooth can look and work like a tooth again.

This guide explains what caps are made of, when a tooth needs one, and what having one fitted involves. Our crowns page covers the treatment at our clinic in Antalya in full, including the days you would need and the price list.

What a tooth cap does

A cap does three jobs at once. It holds together a tooth that might otherwise split, it restores the shape so you can bite and chew properly, and it gives the tooth a colour that matches its neighbours. It is cemented or bonded over what is left of your own tooth, so the root stays where it is and the crown becomes the part you see.

Caps are also used on dental implants. There the crown is fixed to the implant rather than to a natural tooth, and it is planned as part of the implant treatment.

When a tooth needs a cap

Most caps are fitted because a tooth has been weakened and a filling will no longer hold it together. The usual reasons are:

• A large filling or a lot of decay. When more of the tooth is filling than tooth, the remaining walls can crack under biting force. A cap covers and supports them.
• A cracked or broken tooth. A crack that has not reached the root can often be held together by a cap before it spreads.
• After root canal treatment. A back tooth that has had its nerve removed is often hollowed out and brittle, and is usually capped to stop it breaking. Our restorative dentistry page covers root canal treatment.
• Worn teeth. Grinding or acid can wear teeth short. Caps can rebuild their height, although the cause needs dealing with too.
• Appearance. A tooth that is badly discoloured, misshapen or heavily restored can be capped to match the others when a veneer would not cover enough.

A cap is usually the wrong answer for a healthy tooth that only needs a new colour or shape. Shaping a sound tooth all the way round removes a lot of it, for a change that whitening, composite bonding or a veneer could often make with far less drilling. Our guide to caps vs veneers goes through that choice with examples.

What caps are made of

Caps come in several materials, and the right one depends on where the tooth is and how hard you bite. In general terms, the main kinds are:

• All-ceramic caps. Tooth-coloured and metal-free. The two most common today are E-max, a glass-ceramic that lets light through much like enamel, and zirconia, a very tough ceramic usually chosen for back teeth.
• Metal-porcelain caps. Porcelain fused over a metal base. They are long established and strong, but the metal makes them opaque, and a thin dark line can show at the gum if it shrinks back.
• Full metal caps. Gold or other alloys. Very durable, but clearly metal-coloured, so used mainly on back teeth. We do not make these.

At our clinic caps are made in zirconia, E-max or metal-porcelain at OGN Dental Studio, the lab in our building. Our guide to E-max vs zirconia crowns compares the two ceramics in detail.

How a cap is fitted

Having a cap made is usually a matter of days rather than one appointment, because each one is designed and made in a lab. The steps are broadly the same wherever you have it done.

1. Examination. The dentist checks the tooth, the gum and your bite, and takes X-rays. Sometimes a tooth that looked like a cap case needs root canal treatment first, or only a filling.
2. Preparation. Under local anaesthetic, the tooth is shaped a little on every side so the cap can fit over it without being bulky. Old filling and decay are removed and the core is built up where needed.
3. Scan and shade. The prepared tooth is recorded, at our clinic with an intraoral scanner rather than an impression tray, and the shade is chosen with you.
4. Temporary cap. A temporary cap protects the tooth while the lab works. It is only lightly fixed, so avoid hard and sticky food on it.
5. Try-in and fitting. The final cap is tried in so the dentist can check the fit, the contact with the teeth either side, the bite and the colour. Once you are both happy, it is cemented or bonded in place.

For most crown cases at our clinic we suggest allowing about a week in Antalya. Your written plan confirms the days for your own case; treat that figure as typical, not promised.

What it feels like afterwards

The tooth and gum may be tender for a few days after preparation, and the new cap can feel slightly strange to bite on at first. Some sensitivity to cold is common, especially on a tooth that still has a live nerve, and usually settles. If one tooth feels high when you bite together, tell the dentist: it is a quick adjustment.

How long caps last, and how to look after them

A cap cannot decay, but the tooth underneath can, right at the edge where the two meet. That edge is where most problems start, so cleaning there matters more than anything else:

• brush twice a day and clean between the teeth every day with floss or small interdental brushes;
• see your own dentist and hygienist for check-ups, and show them what was done;
• if you grind, wear a night guard to protect the cap and your other teeth;
• avoid biting very hard things, such as ice or bottle tops, with capped teeth.

With good care a well-made cap can last many years, but no one can honestly promise a lifespan: it depends on the tooth underneath, your bite and your habits. Our guide to how long dental treatments last looks at what affects it.

The risks

• It is permanent. Once a tooth is shaped for a cap, it will always need one.
• The nerve. Preparing a live tooth can irritate its nerve. Usually this settles, but a heavily filled tooth sometimes needs root canal treatment later.
• Chipping. Ceramic can chip, particularly under heavy grinding.
• A loose cap. Occasionally a cap comes off, often because the tooth underneath has decayed. It can usually be re-cemented if the tooth is sound.
• Gum recession. If the gum shrinks back over the years, the edge of the cap can show.

Caps on the NHS and privately

In England, crowns are among the treatments usually available on the NHS when they are clinically needed, and they fall under the Band 3 charge. The NHS explains the bands on its page about what each NHS dental band includes, and notes that a metal-coloured crown may be offered on a back tooth. Treatment that is mainly cosmetic, such as veneers and whitening, is generally private; the NHS page on dental treatments sets out what is usually covered.

At our clinic caps are priced per tooth on our dental price list: €170 for zirconia and €190 for E-max. Metal-porcelain has no published price; ask us and your written plan will show it. Anything a tooth needs first, such as a filling or root canal treatment, is its own line in your written plan.

Next steps

If you think a tooth may need a cap, send us clear photographs and any recent X-rays when you book a free consultation. A dentist will reply with what they think each tooth needs, the likely material and a written price, and nothing is booked until you have read it.