Not for Your China

While your aunt up in Petosky may think of porcelain only as in her English bone china with the birds on it, Dr. Egger is more into another kind porcelain — dental porcelain. He likes porcelain for his crowns and the artificial teeth on implants and bridges.

Here’s why dental porcelain is swell, to quote your aunt.

What’s So Great About Dental Porcelain?

The main reason Dr. Egger loves porcelain is its appearance. Dental porcelain very closely resembles the look of natural tooth enamel. Like enamel, it is slightly translucent, meaning you can see through it a little bit. It also absorbs some light and reflects some light, just as natural tooth enamel does. This makes your teeth bright, but not overly reflective, when they are covered with dental porcelain.

In some ways, porcelain is superior to tooth enamel. Porcelain is actually more stain resistant than tooth enamel. That’s because our tooth enamel is slightly porous, even though it seems hard as a rock. That’s why it stains when we drink coffee, tea, or red wine, or eat a bunch of summer blackberries. Porcelain is highly resistant to staining, and it stays that way.

Also, Dr. Egger can precisely match the porcelain used in crowns and implants to the color of your adjacent teeth. With natural tooth enamel, you’re pretty much stuck with the color you were born with, and some people simply have enamel that is a little more yellow than white.

Strong

Dental porcelain is incredibly strong. That’s why dental implants can last for the remainder of a patient’s life. Not only will the titanium implant base remain a part of your jawbone, but the artificial porcelain tooth attached to it will last for decades.

Where do we use dental porcelain?

Here’s where we use dental porcelain at Dr. Egger’s:

• Porcelain crowns
• Porcelain implants
• Porcelain fused to metal for bridges
• Porcelain inlays and onlays

See? Porcelain does have more uses than tea time or Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

Is it time for your next exam and cleaning with our team? Call us at (989) 773-3560 to make your appointment.