A lost tooth or fractured one can be restored by several ways. When a small fracture occurs, in general the tooth is endodontically treated. The crown is reconstructed with composite resin. However, in more complicated fractures, with little natural crown remaining, the tooth can receive a crown on its top. This crown can be made of porcelain, resin, metal or a combination of these.

There are two main steps to be done after the endodontic treatment: step in the surgical suite and another in the dental laboratory.

In the surgery room, the first step is to shape the remaining tooth. In order to receive a prosthesis, the tooth needs to have a form that makes the prosthesis fit perfectly. Fitting in dentistry is very comprehensive, including the physical and mechanical properties of strength, elasticity, retention, stability, ductility, flexibility, strain, stress, and several others. The main purpose is that the shape of the left crown needs to be expulsive, so that the new prosthesis can cover it smoothly, without retention, with no need to force it on.

The shape needs to be expulsive, but keeping certain retention for the prosthesis. That means, there needs to be a maximum inclination of 3 degrees in each aspect, totally a maximum of 6 degrees. All this is done by a friction grip bur in high speed. The shape of the bur is specific to the shape of the marginal area desired. This margin is the area of contact between the tooth structure and the metal crown. Differently from porcelain crown or resin crowns, for the metal prosthesis this margin can be a smooth curve, because the metal is hard and can absorb without fracture the chewing forces when the crown is cemented over.

For the canine teeth, because there is a large space (diastema) around it, the wearing of the remaining natural crown can be smaller.

After the wearing is done, the tooth is copied (impression materials), and this impression of model is sent to the laboratory, which will cast in high-temperatures ovens. There are several metals that can be used, such as aluminum, chrome, cobalt, gold, nickel, and an alloy of these.

When the crown is given back from the lab, the surgeon needs to re-anesthetize the animal to place it over the prepared tooth. This is done under radiograph exams, so that the perfect fit is visualized.

The crown is cemented. There are several cements: the oldest one is phosphate. New ones are done in resin. Cementation is a very important step, and all rules must be kept, regarding the chemical and physical properties of the materials.

A metal crown can last for the whole life of the animal, especially when the surgeon is very skilled in following all the steps, and has a great knowledge of the material properties.