Crowns

Moggaman

should a crown that cost me 900 euro in 2004 crack in half in 2011. i thought there were meant to last 20 yrs...front tooth by the way

helimachoptor

Op, its impossible to know what type of strains and conditions have been in your mouth so it may be a bad crown but it may also be just excessive wear and tear.

I paid 900 for a molar crown 3 years ago and not problems so far.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Moggaman wrote: »

should a crown that cost me 900 euro in 2004 crack in half in 2011. i thought there were meant to last 20 yrs...front tooth by the way

Seven years is on the lower side of average for a crown, but not an unreasonable amount of time. Its a bit like when your car has something wrong and its just out of warrenty....bummer yes, but garages fault no.

Go to the original dentist and discuss it with them, they may give you something off but really a free redo is not on the cards.

geem

if a crown needs replacing does this mean the entire original job needs to be repeated? Or part of the job.

I am considering getting 26 crowns for cosmetic reasons - so is the likelihood is that they will all need replacing within a short time of each other?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

26 crowns is far too many, nobody need 26 crowns unless your teeth are all worn to stumps. You need to be really sure you need that. I do full mouth work all the time, and 18-20 crowns would be a complete mouth rehab. Depends, but sound like over treatment.

Oral Surgeon

geem wrote: »

if a crown needs replacing does this mean the entire original job needs to be repeated? Or part of the job.

I am considering getting 26 crowns for cosmetic reasons - so is the likelihood is that they will all need replacing within a short time of each other?

You can expect 10-15 years from a crown if done well and with a sprinkle of good fortune...
On 26 crowns, expect at least one or two teeth to die off after such extensive work and you will likely need a root canal treatment to sort this out...

To answer your question;
the initial work is to plan your new occlusion (bite) and appearance (contour and lip support of crowns) so you don't look like Mr Ed... This is done initially with models and mock wax ups of the final result on the stone models

Then the teeth are prepared and filed down, the provisional (temporary) crowns are also used to simulate the size and shape of the new crown to make sure that they are acceptable to you in form and function.

Then the impressions are taken to make the final crowns in the lab

Then they are cemented

If getting this job redone in 10-15 years time, you will likely not need such an extensive preparatory phase. However removing old crowns, preserving tooth structure and refreshing the preparations (removing fractured or decayed areas) is tricky and time consuming. Also, some other issues may have cropped up in that time...

The impressions, crowns and fit will take as long and cost the same...

Basically, it's the same job again...

OS

geem

Hi thanks for the replies. I am really glad i posted that question! Since I posted the question I also read some old threads about dental tourism.

I visit my local dentist very regularly for check ups and also see the hygenist regularly.

I have no bad teeth - however the appearance is unsightly. As a child I had too many teeth to fit in my mouth and my dentist removed some - this did not solve the problem but my parents could not afford orthodontics at the time.

The lower set are overcrowded still and overlapped. The top set also has some overlap and the line or shape of both sets is not good. I have a small jaw and throat.

I have always wanted to have my smile improved, however I have understood costs of this to be around the 20k mark and have simply not had the money.

However I keep researching ways to do it in the hope that one day I can make some improvements.

A couple of years ago I had a consultation with a company from Budapest - I will call them company A

I had a panoramic xray done (still have this) but didn't follow through on their treatment plan - 13,616 k for their plan. I still have their plan - which included 20 crowns and a lot more - 1 x 7 day trip.

Company A's plan also included a root canal but I have since had the tooth extracted here by my own dentist.

I had an appointment yesterday with a different Budapest Dentist - I will call them company B

The B dentist suggested a 2 week stay in Hungary
The following are direct quotes from the plan:

'2 extractions' (from the lower set - the worst overlappers)
'26 x Porcelain fused to metal crown for tooth (unit)'
'26 x Porcelain fused to metal crown for implant (unit)'
The guarantee on the above was only 3 years.

The above and the other treatments on their plan came to 6000k in price.

I am very interested to hear your opinion.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Jesus Christ, that's gross over treatment. I will send you the name of somebody for a second opinion. Ludicrous stuff. 3 year guarantee what a joke. You know yourself that this is not right. 6k for 26 crowns will mean poor quality anywhere.........

Oral Surgeon

geem wrote: »

I am very interested to hear your opinion.

Geem, I think you already know that this is crazy, way too much treatment for way too cheap- the catch is that it'll be crap and will need massively expensive retreatment when it all fails horribly...

Good luck,
OS

peggie

if teeth overlapping is your problem i'm not sure crowns are the answer,
i would suggest going to a qualified orthodontist for an opinion to see if
they could give you the smile you seek, most seem to charge much less than 6000 you were quoted for huge number or crowns
and you may have less need to retreat with crowns again and again throughout your life
just a suggestion, best of luck
peg

davo10

This is a patient who had over 20 crowns done at the same time in Budapest 2 years ago, there was no planning, no wax up models, they competely f**ked up his bite and everything started to fall apart within a few months, no scaremongering, this is a real person who has had to have everything redone.

davo10

geem this is a document I prepared for a few patients who said they were going for a hotel consultation, it's a few questions you may wish to ask before you travel. It is not comprehensive and I accept it may be complete rubbish but some things in it may help you.

geem

Thankyou everyone who replied. The document Davo10 supplied is very useful and sensible.

I am sure there are some very good Hungarian dentists, however it is very hard for us to find out since people who have had problems with their teeth after treatments are probably too embarrassed to admit it - the owners of the teeth pictured here and in the Dental Tourism thread remain anonymous.


For the average person unfortunately orthodontics remains unaffordable (please note this is not the same as saying Irish dentists overcharge)
- but today we are all more tooth conscious than ever, tv makeovers make it seem easy, travel is cheaper too, and it is these and other factors that makes us vulnerable to cut price 'tooth-bargains.'

I would love one day to make the improvements I want but these will not be at company A or company B
I will continue seeking opinions and researching.

Oral Surgeon

geem wrote: »

I am sure there are some very good Hungarian dentists,

For the average person unfortunately orthodontics remains unaffordable

I will continue seeking opinions and researching.

True, there are sure to be good Hungarian dentists but we're not likely to see or hear of them or their patients as they are happily treating local patients and not shilling the international market for Irish or UK patients....

True ortho can be pricey but payments can be spread out over the 18-24 month course so can be tailored to suit...

Nice to see a boarder who accepts good advice...

Good luck Geem,
OS