Dental Health Topics

Crown - Resin With High Noble Metal - Dental Procedure Code Description

The term crown describes 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 fitted over the tooth is made from a base of high noble metal, and then covered, at least partially, with a tooth-colored synthetic resin to enhance its cosmetic appeal.  

Synthetic resins are liquid materials that can be converted into a permanent hardened material, and in dentistry are most commonly acrylic polymer or polymethyl methacrylate.

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 the two materials together is done when extensive repair is needed within the smile zone, and a full gold crown - despite its greater longevity and strength - is not preferred for cosmetic reasons.

With this procedure, because the metal strengthening core is covered with a tooth-colored resin, you can achieve excellent cosmetic results, in addition to the durability that stems from the underlying metals.
 
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.