If you've been considering investing in improving your smile, you probably have heard a lot of talk about dental implants. While these replacement teeth are durable and offer many advantages, they can be very expensive and take a long time to fit. In many cases, traditional dental crowns can give you a beautiful, flawless smile without breaking your budget or taking up a lot of your time. However, lower cost is just one of many good reasons to opt for dental crowns over implants and other cosmetic dental options.

Benefits of choosing dental crowns

Dental crowns are porcelain "teeth" that are fitted over a portion of your existing teeth. Your existing tooth is filed down, and the crown is fitted snugly on top of it and adhered using dental epoxy. Crowns are a good option for those wanting to correct chips, stains, cracked, or single missing teeth.

1. Cost. Dental crowns are quite a bit less expensive than other cosmetic dental options. On average, the cost of a dental crown starts at around $500 per tooth. That is favorable compared to dental implants, which cost an average of $3,000 or more per tooth.

2. Durability. The average dental crown will last for up to 15 years before it needs to be replaced. While implants generally will last longer than crowns, crowns are more durable than bonded teeth or dentures.

3. Aesthetics. Dental crowns look very much like real teeth. The dental technician will dye the porcelain to match the color of your other teeth so the crown doesn't stand out from the rest of your teeth.

4. Easy to fit. Dental crowns are relatively easy to fit. In most cases, the process will take just two visits, one to make a mold of your mouth and one to fit the crown. This compares to fitting dental implants, which requires oral surgery and a recovery period of six weeks or more.

5. Comfortable. Crowns let wearers eat all of their favorite foods, even things like corn on the cob or raw apples, which can be troublesome to denture wearers. In addition, well-fitted crowns won't split like dentures can and don't hamper a person's speech.

While dental crowns may not be the best option for everyone looking to improve his or her smile, crowns are more affordable than many other cosmetic dental options, are long-lasting, take less time to fit, and have the look and feel of "real" teeth. Talk to an organization such as Four Corners Dental Group for more information.