Getting a Dental Crown: Procedure and Process:

I was barely 30 years old and I developed a sharp pain in my molar when I would bite on something, especially when I was eating crunchy peanut butter. When I went to my dentist with these symptoms, he said the tooth was cracked and that I would need a dental crown. I had never heard of that before so of course I was a bit nervous and plus I didn't have dental insurance to cover the cost involved. It turns out that dental crowns are used quite often in dental procedures for people with cracked teeth, a chipped tooth, or even those that need to replace a bad filling where the tooth is not really saveable. When you have a cracked tooth, the pain is shooting and definitely doesn't allow you to eat properly or feel confident in chewing your food. I was hesistant to chew anything on my back left molars for fear that the sharp pain would arise. I knew I had to do something so I scheduled the dental crown procedure with my dentist and did a little research before I went into my appointment. I wanted to consider all the options available to someone with a cracked tooth and pick something that made sense financially and for the longevity of the tooth.

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To get a crown on your tooth requires at least 2 dental visits. The first procedure is to shave down the tooth so that a crown can fit over the remainder of the tooth and protect it. In my case, the crack was rather large so the dentist had to take down the tooth quite a bit. I have since had another crown placed on one of my other molars and this one was due to a filling having gone bad over the years and there wasn't enough tooth left to just replace the filling. We had to take out the old filling, clean the remainder of the tooth that had been decayed (under the filling) and then get the crown on. In both cases, a temporary crown was placed over the tooth that needed care. I'm not sure if all dentists do this, but the temporary crown was gold in color and looked funny. Before the temporary crown was placed on my tooth with a little glue, the dentist took an impression of my tooth so that the real crown would fit securely. I must admit the process wasn't too bad - a little shot of novacaine, some drilling on your tooth, then the impression, and finally the temporary crown was placed on the tooth. After about 10 days the porcelain crown was ready to go and I went back for my final visit to get the crown placed on my tooth. The gums around my tooth had been a little sore during those 10 days since they had shaped the tooth and put on the temporary crown, but otherwise there was not much pain associated with the procedure. Taking off the temporary crown was a little strange. The dentist takes a small pair of pliers and wiggles the gold (temporary) crown until it comes off. Kind of a bizarre feeling when the crown came off. Then they clean the tooth one more time to make sure it is plenty sterile so that the permanent crown can be cemented down and have a tight fit. The permanent crown needs to fit exactly or else there is a chance that fluids can leak under the crown and get into the exposed part of the tooth underneath and cause further damage. This is always a risk during a dental crown procedure. A crown will not last forever on your tooth, but certainly it should give you 10 years of life before needing replacement. It takes a while before you are comfortably biting down on food since the new crown over your tooth takes some getting used to. Overall, having had the 2 crowns in my mouth now for almost 2 years, I feel like the procedure was well worth it and now I still have a full head of teeth and technically haven't lost any. I'm hoping in the future when I have to get my crowns replaced that dental technology has created a more permanent fixture so that you don't have to worry about a new crown every 10 years or so. Another thing to remember is that the new crown may experience sensitivity to hot or cold foods and beverages for quite a while. Some people have had their permanent crown fall off and in case that happens set up an appointment with your dentist ASAP to get it recemented on again.

Why you need a crown?:

One of the main reasons that people get crowns is to improve the cosmetic appearance of their teeth. A crown looks just like a real tooth, only it's been manufacturerd in a lab to fit in your mouth exactly like a regular tooth. As I mentioned above, my crowns were placed in my mouth for 2 different reasons. Cracked teeth are very common in American and can happen over time quite easily. You'll know if you have a severe enough crack to require a crown since there will be a shooting, or sharp, pain associated with chewing food on that particular tooth. Since molars do the majority of chewing, the odds of a molar developing a crack over your lifetime are quite good. Often, if you had deep cavities as a young child or even in your early adult years that needed fillings, the tooth may not be as strong as the others and it will be open to cracking. Weakened teeth have a tendency to chip or crack compared to those that have never had cavities. My current dentist says that the dentist who filled my bigger cavities when I was about 20 drilled away so much tooth at the time that the option to replace the fillings is pretty much gone and now I will have to get crowns on a few more teeth as the fillings go bad. Older fillings tend to curl up on the ends as they age meaning bacteria and other matter can get under the filling causing more damage to the tooth. When I get the fillings replaced, it will be with a crown and not a new filling unfortunately. It's best to consult with your dentist on the future of your teeth and what is best in terms of trying to keep as much tooth as possible. With my experience, dentists are always trying to push for a good short term fix (10 years or so) that keeps them doing procedures on your teeth. There ultimate goal is to save your teeth, but in the long run it costs the average guy a lot in dental bills.

Types of Dental Crowns:

What are dental crowns made from? Most of them are either made of metal (like Gold) or with ceramics (porcelain). Sometimes you will find dental crowns made with a combination of metal and porcelain. Gold crowns will probably last the longest of all types of crowns although many people shy away from them for cosmetic reasons. Porcelain crowns are available as full porcelain crowns or porcelain fused to metal dental crowns. The full porcelain crowns resemble real teeth the most, but they lack the overall strength of other crowns and are not recommended for the back molars (front teeth only). The porcelain fused to metal crowns are strong and look great. I have these variety in my mouth and I'm happy with their look and performance. The only drawback with one of them is that the metal (underneath the crown) is visible near the interior of the crown's edge. At first I thought the tooth was infected because the dark area around the crown seemed strange. With a mirror I was able to see the dark line near the gum line and I wondered what it was. My dentist had not told me that this was possible so I called them up and they reassured me this perfectly normal and doesn't hurt the longevity of the crown or risk infection of my mouth.

Dental Crown Cost:

We saved the bad news for last. The cost of a dental crown is quite expensive and most of the price is associated with making the permanent crown itself. The porcelain crown I have cost about $1000 with everything included. You can look around and check the prices with various dentists, but most will do the procedure for roughly the same cost to the customer. Without dental insurance a crown can be a big bill and certainly it's worth looking into other options if they are available. Most dentists will talk you into a semi-permanent crown (one that lasts 10 years) but don't be embarrassed to see what getting the tooth pulled would cost instead. Eventually all crowns will need to be replaced someday and you may even need to get the tooth pulled and a dental implant put in place which could run you $1000's. Dentists are not in business to give you totally permanent solutions or else they would be out of business, so choose what is the best decision for yourself thinking long term. Also, don't think that dental insurance will save you much with a dentist. I have found that with things like crowns, maybe 50% is covered at best which still leaves a big bill and dental insurance is not cheap.

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