Hi Angel,
A Crown (cap) is a laboratory made restoration which fits over and covers most of the natural crown of a tooth. These can be gold or white (porcelain or porcelain bonded to metal) for posterior teeth, and are always white for anterior (front) teeth. Basically the dentist has to create a collar around the tooth by shaping it into a kind of top-hat shape. An impression is taken and sent to a lab where it is made. A temporary crown will be fitted by the dentist in order that the tooth is protected and so that the teeth do not change position. It can take 1 to 2 weeks for the crown to come back from the lab. The lab made crown is then cemented over the prepared tooth. If the tooth has had root canal all this can be done without any injections as there is no nerve. A crown prep (preparation) can take up to an hour to do. As with root canal this is not because of there being alot of drilling, more that it is intricate and precise.
A crown prep should not feel that different to having a filling except that it takes longer and there are impressions (moulds).
Regards,
Mike
