A crown is the portion of your tooth that extends above the gumline. In other words, the portion of the tooth that can be seen in a healthy mouth.
It is also used more colloquially to describe the dental procedure of having a prosthetic crown placed over a decayed, chipped, cracked, or otherwise damaged tooth.
With this dental procedure code, the prosthetic crown is completely constructed of high noble metal, and covers the entire remaining portion of the tooth.
A crown that includes high noble metal, is designated as such because at least 60% of its composition is of the noble metals gold, platinum, palladium, and silver. Of that 60%, at least 40% of that percentage needs to be gold in order to earn this distinction from the American Dental Association.
Noble metals are known to interact well with human tissue, holding up to corrosion and oxidation better than other metals. The higher the percentage of noble metals, the less likely a crown is to corrode or oxidize.
Use of a full, high noble metal crown, as in this dental procedure code, is done when the strength and longevity of the crown are critical, and when repair is needed outside the smile zone, as with back molars.
To prepare for this type of crown, a dentist will first remove any decayed or weakened areas of the tooth, reducing its overall shape to accommodate the crown.
A mold of your bite will then be made, so the custom crown can be fabricated off-site at a dental lab. If desired, a temporary crown can be fitted until the custom crown is completed.
Once the custom crown arrives at the dentist's office, any temporary crown used as a place-holder will be removed, and you will be fitted with the new crown.
To look up and find more CDT dental codes from the American Dental Association, please visit our complete Dental Procedure Code Library.