A crown is a dental restoration used when a tooth has been severely decayed, has had a root canal on it, or is broken. Some people call them “caps”. In a situation where there is not enough remaining solid tooth structure left in a particular tooth, the dentist will prescribe a restoration consisting of a dental material that will exist around the remaining tooth structure to a varying degree giving support and strength to the damaged tooth. Crowns are made of materials like gold, porcelain, or porcelain fused to a gold substrate for strength and beauty.