Crown vs Implant

amacca

Im back again, some more questions if anyone out there can help me!

1) I was wondering if you had a cracked molar (large filling) and presuming it was suitable for a crown, would you be wise to get the crown done. and then when it fails or you have trouble with it in the future, you could get an implant in (without bone grafting) as the crown would presumably have preserved the bone density underneath?

2) I heard it is possible to get the metal fillings replaced with the white composite ones. Is this only in special cases? If the existing metal fillings form a substantial part of the tooth would this be a no no or a risky procedure?

Always with the questions!

Appreciate any help I can get. Tks.

copacetic

not sure on 1), presumably if possible a dentist will do a crown, an implant is last resort.

for 2) if it is a large metal filling I think they usually recommend a fitted porcelain filling rather than just replacing filling with white.

amacca

Cheers copacetic, I appreciate the help.

Feebles

Hi.
Firstly on the crown issue. If the tooth is suitable for crowning then there should be no rason for the crown to fail, as long as it's done well and your oral hygiene is good! Different materials can be used to crown teeth and this is usually chosen according to how hard your bite is! Put it this way, I grind my teeth and managed to cause a big crack right through a molar tooth (it was already filled). The tooth was suitable for crowning so my dentist decided to use gold primarily for the crown (metal being one of the hardest materials), as my bite is so hard, but he put porcelain on the outside surface of the crown as I have a wide smile...so it looks like a regular tooth! Clever, eh?
If a crown is done well you really shouldn't have to even think about implants!
Secondly, whie fillings can be used to replace silver ones, though it's not always recommended. Silver filling are harder and more wearing. Thereofre, I would say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" If you were having difficulty with a silver filling or it broke / fell out, then by all means ask your dentist if it's possible to replace it with a white one! The materials used for white fillings (called composites) are getting better and better but again, the dentist needs to be good to for these fillings to last!

Apologies for this long-winded reply but hope the info is of some help!

amacca

Tks feebles, much appreciated. Im just basically finding it hard to make up my mind when it comes to which practice to go to, what to get done etc so I appreciate any info I can get.