Crown fell out after just 2 years

BOSTIK

Just seeking an opinion

About 30 years ago I took an accidental swipe of a hurley to the mouth and smashed one of my two front teeth in half. It’s been crowned a few times since then and the entire original tooth is completely gone at this stage. About 2 years ago I had the crown replaced after the previous one, which had lasted 18 years and had been fitted by a dental mechanic (not a dentist), eventually fell out.

The new crown fell out last week, apparently the post had sheared away from the roof of the mouth. A dentist (not the one who did the job 2 years ago) at the local practice has cemented it back but tells me that it won’t last very long and that I need to consider the full bridge treatment.

The guy who did the original work was on Christmas leave so I didn’t get to speak to him about it. He was pushing me towards the full bridge treatment 2 years ago, but I preferred the less invasive (and obviously less expensive) crown for the moment.

I knew I wouldn’t be collecting my pension with this crown, but I was expecting to get more than 2 years out of it. My question is whether it’s reasonable to assume that, after having spent nearly €900 on the most recent crown 2 years ago and shelled out a further €50 last week, I could expect the crown to have lasted a good bit longer than 2 years. I have to presume that the job was done properly, it’s a reputable practice, not some back alley job.

Any feedback would be welcome.
Thanks

davo10

BOSTIK wrote: »

Just seeking an opinion

About 30 years ago I took an accidental swipe of a hurley to the mouth and smashed one of my two front teeth in half. It’s been crowned a few times since then and the entire original tooth is completely gone at this stage. About 2 years ago I had the crown replaced after the previous one, which had lasted 18 years and had been fitted by a dental mechanic (not a dentist), eventually fell out.

The new crown fell out last week, apparently the post had sheared away from the roof of the mouth. A dentist (not the one who did the job 2 years ago) at the local practice has cemented it back but tells me that it won’t last very long and that I need to consider the full bridge treatment.

The guy who did the original work was on Christmas leave so I didn’t get to speak to him about it. He was pushing me towards the full bridge treatment 2 years ago, but I preferred the less invasive (and obviously less expensive) crown for the moment.

I knew I wouldn’t be collecting my pension with this crown, but I was expecting to get more than 2 years out of it. My question is whether it’s reasonable to assume that, after having spent nearly €900 on the most recent crown 2 years ago and shelled out a further €50 last week, I could expect the crown to have lasted a good bit longer than 2 years. I have to presume that the job was done properly, it’s a reputable practice, not some back alley job.

Any feedback would be welcome.
Thanks

OP it is the tooth that retains the crown, therefore it's retention/strength depends on the condition of the root. A good analogy is building a house on a poor foundation, no matter how good the house is, if the foundation is bad, then it will fail.

The dentists notes will reflect the fact that the root/crown had a poor prognosis and that a bridge would have been a better option. Sounds like he/she explained the limitations and poor prognosis for the crown and the better alternative but for financial reasons you went with the compromised option.

You may be tempted to ask why your previous one lasted 18 years and this one just 2. Crowns are precision made to fit a prepared tooth, when they fail it is usually due to the structural deterioration of the retaining tooth underneath, this may be due to trauma ( a blow, effects of grinding, biting something hard) or decay, the next crown placed has less natural tooth to retain it than the first and so is likely to be inherently weaker and more likely to fail than the first, hence why you were advised to have a bridge. Lastly, if you look at the crown, it is most likely to be as intact and strong as the day it was placed, what has changed is the condition of your tooth.

Therefore unfortunately, you did not follow the advice given and you are likely to now have to pay for the treatment, the bridge, your dentist advised you to have on day one.. Sorry.

Dianthus

Whilst 2 years is a sub-optimal lifespan, this risk was inherent in opting for a sub-optimal treatment, & disregarding the advice given at the time.
Assuming you claimed back either 20% or 40% Med2 Tax Relief on the €900, having the crown works out as €2 or less per day over the 2 years...still not bad for having a front tooth?

BOSTIK

Thanks for the prompt replies, I appreciate the honesty.

I forgot to include that the dentist who glued back the crown told me that there's about 1 mm of the post still protruding from the upper gum. It's obviously covered now after the repair job, but I was particularly surprised to hear that. That's what I meant when I mentioned that the crown had sheared away. I wasn't expecting the post to break like that.

Incidentally, the crown that lasted 18 years was actually the 3rd repair job on the tooth

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Sounds like you should forget about that tooth and look into an implant or bridge. If you are suitable for an implant (which most people are) the cost per year of that restoration is superior to a bridge as is the retreatment cost down the line.

Teeth cannot be retreated indefinably as the biology deteriorates and as Davo10 says the risks were explained to you at the time. Weather the post fractures, the root fractures or any other mechanism of failure, the cause of failure is the lack of remaining tooth real structure, the post gives no reinforcement to the tooth quite to opposite.

This time, think long term about treatment. Dont go for the lowest cost now, look at the cost per year of the dental work and its expected lifespan. Choose the option that will cost the least in the long term. For instance if a bridge is 2000 euro and an implant is 3000 euro but the implant will last longer and cost less to retreat when it fails then the more expensive options is the better value option.

georgieporgy

Might be a good idea to go back to the dentist who did it 2 years ago.He will be familiar with the condition of the tooth and the type of post used. Are you missing any back teeth?

BOSTIK

Not missing any back teeth. All other teeth are in good condition.

I'm well aware that I'm going to need a more expensive, permanent repair done in the future; I knew that when this latest one was being inserted, but I couldn't afford the extra couple of grand that it would've cost at the time. While I was advised that the current crown wasn't going to see me into my senior years, I was never told that there was a danger of the current crown failing within 2 years though.

Anyway, I've some food for thought now.