What's a crown and lots of other questions!!!?

Question

I had to go to the dentist this morning because suddenly the tooth that was occasionally painful got REALLY painful all the time last night and I was up all night with toothache.......it was horrible!!! The whole visit was a disaster!!!

Anyway, I went to the dentist and he did some x-rays and stuff and said that the decay was really deep in the tooth and he had to do a root canal :o( He put a temporary filling in the tooth but he says I have to go back in a couple of weeks for a permanent filling in it and I'll have to get a crown as well.

What's a crown? And why do I have to get one? It sounds expensive!!! He says I have cavities in 2 of my wisdom teeth as well, and he wants to pull them out instead of doing fillings - why is that? Can't I just get fillings in them? And to finish off, I need to get two fillings as well in other teeth!!!!! But he wants to put silver fillings in because he says they're better than white ones, is that true?

Answer 1

Jen,

A crown is required to strengthen the tooth. If you don't get one, your (now dead) tooth runs a high risk of fracture. A crown will cover the tooth and like others have stated, essentially become your new tooth, protecting what is under it. Most crowns that are prescribed these days are PFMs or (porcelain fused to metal), which should blend well with your other teeth. However, there are several options available, depending on your goals... Full cast crowns, ususally made out of gold and placed in the posterior region. Gold crowns are great for two reasons....
1. the gold should be soft enough to burnish itself and keep the margins closed.
2. the gold should be soft enough to minimize damage to the opposing dentition.
The obvious draw back is the esthetics. (Lets face it.... it's not going to be the same color as your other teeth)
Your other option this side of PFM's would be all ceramic.
All ceramic crowns are usually made with a coputer designed coping made out of either alumina, or zirconia. Both of these materials are VERY strong and either white or a natural tooth color. Porcelain is then layered on top of it, and the final result is a metal free, but very strong crown.

Your wisdom teeth need to be pulled because they have decay. But I would suggest pulling them in most cases even if they don't. Why? Because they usually will end up with decay. They are too far back in the mouth to clean properly, and tend to only partially erupt, leaving a small flap of gum on top, thereby making it IMPOSSIBLE to clean. Once decay sets in... it can lead to many other problems. My advice here, get them pulled.

Metal fillings are good and bad...
1. they are good because the dentist can make sure the margins are sealed nice and tightly,
2. they are good because they have a long track record and tend to last several years.
3. they are bad beacuse they do contain mercury, and some people are hypersensitive to this
4. they are bad because they will discolor the tooth they are placed in.

White fillings are...
1. good because they are tooth colored, so they blend well.
2. they are made of composite, (plastic) and are very kind to the opposing dentition
3. bad because they are made of composite and are often too soft, which means they will wear with time, often causing open margins
4. bad because they will stain and turn dull rather quickly.
5. bad because they don't last as long as silver fillings.

you do have several other options, but they are much more expensive. But to break it down.... instead of fillings you can be prepped for inlays, or onlays which then can be fabricated by either gold or porcelain.

Good luck with your dental work, and don't be afraid to discuss your options with your dentist. Make sure he knows your concerns and desires, and I'm sure he will be able to ease your concerns and meet your desires.

I hope this info helps.

Craig

Answer 2

Hey, I'm in a kind of similar situation. I had to get a root canal done on Monday because I had a badly decayed tooth, they tried a filling first but it didn't work. I've to go back in a couple of weeks for a permanent filling too and then later a crown. The dentist told me that once the nerve is taken out the tooth the tooth is effectively "dead" and it can get brittle which means it can break easily. Putting a crown over the tooth stops it from breaking which causes more problems in the future.

I've to have all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted as well because they've got big cavities in them, I asked why I couldn't just get fillings and the dentist said that I obviously wasn't able to brush them properly, hence the cavities, and that they would just get more decay in them later if he filled them so it's easier to just extract them, and they don't do much anyway.

And finally, I'm in the middle of getting a lot of fillings done just now (I avoided the dentist for 10 years - terrible idea, I literally need fillings in every tooth except the front ones now!). I was worried about how it would look if they were silver, but the silver ones are better for teeth that take a lot of pressure. I eventually decided to get silver fillings in the top where they wouldn't really be seen and silver in the back two on the bottom and white in the ones on the bottom nearer the front.

Answer 3

Well you have enough information about crowns!

With regard to the fillings in your wisdom teeth - it depends upon the teeth! I had to have two wisdom teeth removed because they had holes in them (I am over 40 and what I am describing is the only dental work I have ever had to have done - it was 7 years ago and I go to the dentist every 12 months - it got ridiculous going every 6 months!)

The problems were two-fold. firstly, the holes were at the back of the teeth, not at the top. the other problem was that they were bottom wisdom teeth and the top ones were not there, so they were not grinding down properly because they had nothing to push against. This could have been why the holes developed. It is also much harder to fill wisdom teeth because of angles. Unfortunately, your mouth does not hinge so that it is horizontal, which makes access very difficult. However, you can pull teeth out at an angle.

Believe it or not, having teeth out was painless! It was done under a local anaesthetic, where the dentist just froze where the teeth were. I am a coward and seriously allergic to pain so was terrified of having it done - but it did not hurt at all!

As for why the dentist is recommending silver and not white fillings is twofold. firstly, the silver fillings last longer and secondly the white fillings are more expensive.

Have a look at Wikipedia to find out other differences.

Good luck with your teeth - they will be healthy and not give you any more grief!

Answer 4

Crowns are expensive my son had one done after a root canal. About 800 bux in my area. But you have to have it since you had your tooth worked on. As for your wisdom teeth, my dentist reccommends getting them removed. If you have cavities in them already instead of the upkeep on fillings just remove them. But no you dont HAVE to if they are not causing you any other trouble. I would want the white fillings, A- because you dont notice the white fillings and B- because I dont want all that mercury in my mouth. When you open your mouth do you want people to see your fillings? It is not true about silver being better than the white, The white holds up nicely. My dentist only puts in the white fillings now. He says thats old school stuff about silver being better than the white.

Answer 5

Crowns are very expensive. What they are is a cover that fits over the tooth because once you have a root canal, the tooth is dead. It tends to fall apart. The crown keeps it from doing so. The wisdome teeth could be pulled or filled, it's really your decision, but if they are not causing you any problem, I'd keep them. (I did keep mine). And yes, the silver fillings are better.

Answer 6

A crown or cap is a prosthetic tooth. Crowns can be either metal, porcelain fused to metal, or all porcelain/ceramic. I had a temporary one made of silver metal. I went to a dental school and had it done. It didn't last long and ended up falling out. I never went back for the porcelain one because I never had any more problems with the tooth. The porcelain crowns look like the real deal but they can be expensive.

Your real tooth seems impossible to repair and therefore a crown is needed.

Answer 7

A crown is a covering for a tooth to help prevent further damage to the tooth. It helps a weak or missing tooth function properly.

Wisdom teeth can pose lots of problems such as jaw misalignment, gum damage, and usually get cavities because they are in the back of the mouth and aren't brushed and flossed as throughly as they should be. Hence, it is easier to remove them than to fix them because it will save you time and money in the long run. They require a lot of maintainance.

Please check out the link below about crowns and wisdom teeth. I hope this helps!

Answer 8

Crowns are a type of dental restoration which, when cemented into place, fully cup over the portion of a tooth that lies at and above the gum line. In comparison, fillings are dental restorations that fill in or cover over just a portion of a tooth. Since dental crowns encase the entire visible aspect of a tooth, a dental crown in effect becomes the tooth's new outer surface.Crowns can be made out of porcelain (meaning some sort of dental ceramic), metal (a gold or other metal alloy), or a combination of both. Other terms that are used to refer to dental crowns are "dental caps" and "tooth caps."
A dentist might recommend placing a dental crown for a variety of reasons but, in general, most of these reasons will usually fall within one of the following basic categories;
To restore a tooth to its original shape.
To strengthen a tooth.
To improve the cosmetic appearance of a tooth

Answer 9

A crown is a fake tooth out of metal (occasionaly covered with ceramic) used to substitute a tooth that is unrepairable. I have several ones already, it's not so bad.
Most people have problems with their wisdom teeth, you don't need them anyways, getting them out is fast and unproblematic, you won't miss them.
Metal fillings are not as expesnive as the white cermaic fillings, those are also only needed for holes that can be seen (like the front teeth), so whenever it is possible, metal fillings are the better alternative.

Answer 10

White fillings, called composites, are better than silver is several ways. They are constructed of materials that are more biosimilar to tooth structure and therefore have properties much like the tooth itself. Traditional metal fillings expand and contract with temperature changes and can cause cracking and chipping of the tooth. Composites are bonded into the tooth with a chemical and mechanical bond unlike silver which was simply pressed into place. Finally, composites are much more esthetic than silver.