When teeth have very large cavities or very larger older fillings, we have to crown (cap) the tooth. This is because we can no longer effectively “stuff” or fill the tooth with filling material and expect it to last a long time. A crown protects the tooth from the outside, taking on the chewing responsibilities and becoming the new shell for the tooth. In this example, this patient had a large cavity with an older filling. The front tooth was crowned and custom-shaded and custom-shaped to match his other natural teeth.