Crowns - With so many different types of dental restorations available, people often get confused about what a crown is compared to a filling. Common dental fillings restore teeth with small to moderate sized decay. In this case the tooth can be thought of as a container with a filling material placed inside the tooth. However, when a tooth has more than one filling or large amounts of decay, the tooth is no longer a strong container. When this occurs, a crown is indicated to cover the remaining tooth structure like a cap on a bottle top. Crowns are commonly made out of gold alloys, porcelain laid over gold, or full porcelain. There are many different indications for each. During your examination and treatment, we will thoroughly discuss indications and material choices.