Dental crowns : Is a dental filling an alternative to having a crown made for a tooth?

There is no other dental restoration that covers over a tooth in the same fashion that a dental crown does *, and for this reason there really is no perfectly equivalent alternative treatment to the placement of a crown. There are however, depending on your specific circumstances, other choices that might be made. Since none of them are precisely identical to the placement of a dental crown you may run some risk when choosing one of them. It is your dentist's obligation to provide you with an intelligent discussion regarding all of the various options that dentistry has to offer you.

[*There are variations on the technique of placing a dental crown. These are termed onlays and 3/4 crowns. The premise lying behind each of these restorations is identical to that of full dental crowns, they just cover over a tooth less completely. For the purposes of our discussion here, we consider these restorations to be the same as dental crowns.]

Alternatives to the placement of dental crowns.

Here are some of the types of options that might be suitable alternatives to the immediate placement of a dental crown. It would seem that any thorough discussion that your dentist has with you would need to include most of these topics. You should never make a treatment decision unilaterally. Both you and your dentist, together, need to determine which of these alternatives might be a suitable approach for your specific situation.

A) Delay the placement of the dental crown.

This can be an appropriate solution in some circumstances, in other situations it might be the absolute worst decision. You should never elect this option without the advice and concurring opinion of your dentist. Especially in those cases where decay is already present, or the tooth has broken in a fashion where it traps food and plaque and therefore decay is likely to form easily, delaying dental treatment could very well lead to more serious dental complications and even tooth loss.

B) Seek another dentist's opinion.

Different dentists have different skills and have had different clinical experiences. A second dentist may have varying views or insights regarding what they feel can be an appropriate treatment for your tooth. No one can predict the future. There isn't always one right solution to every problem. Hear each dentist out and see which approach makes the most sense to you.

C) Ask what financial arrangements can be made.

Dental crowns can be expensive and your dentist is probably asked about what types of financial alternatives are available from them with some frequency. They may have a solution to offer.

D) Temporize the tooth, delay the placement of the dental crown.

This might be a good solution. Once again, you will simply need to seek the advice of your dentist as related to your specific situation. If this alternative is chosen you should ask over what time frame would it be expected that this temporization should remain stable. You should also ask what precautions you should take while the temporary restoration is in place.

E) Have a tooth filling placed instead of a dental crown.

While there can be a number of variables associated with this approach, having your dentist place a dental filling instead of a crown can be a solution. Sometimes this solution works exceedingly well. Having a filling placed now does not preclude the placement of a dental crown later. In fact, in most cases even if a filling has been placed it would still be prudent to go ahead and have a dental crown placed on the tooth whenever circumstances (financial or time) permit.

Especially in those situations where a large portion of your tooth will need to be replaced by a dental filling, the circumstances associated with the process of placing the filling might be less than ideal. You cannot expect the filling your dentist creates to provide the same longevity or precise tooth restructuring that a dental crown can offer.

As you have discovered on the other pages of this topic, dental fillings do not provide the same protection for teeth that dental crowns do. There is some risk associated with choosing the placement of a dental filling over a crown in that your tooth may break sometime in the future, possibly even irreparably.

F) Have the tooth extracted.

This seemingly simplest and cheapest solution can be worst and most expensive choice in the long run. When a tooth is extracted its neighboring teeth will have a tendency to shift, sometimes significantly. The resulting misalignment of your teeth can, in turn, have a major impact on your dental health. Even the removal of a single tooth can lead to problems associated with chewing ability, jaw joint problems, or create a situation that can predispose any teeth that have shifted to developing problems in the future.

So to avoid these complications, your dentist will probably recommend to you that you replace any tooth that has been extracted. Replacing a tooth that has been extracted with an artificial one will all most certainly cost more than the alternative treatment plan of not having the tooth extracted and instead rebuilding it with a dental crown.