Why Might You Need a Dental Crown Instead of Filling?
There are significant differences between a dental crown and dental fillings. Dentists use crowns and fillings to repair decayed and damaged teeth. If your dentist recommends dental crowns instead of fillers, you might wonder why the professional saddles you with additional expenditure.
When recommending dental crowns over fillings, dentists are not trying to generate additional revenue. Still, they are aiming to provide the most effective solution to restore and functionality of the affected tooth as best possible.
Explaining Dental Crowns and Dental Fillings
When you suffer from tooth decay, the standard solution is a dental filling. You can have porcelain, composite resin, gold or silver amalgam fillings. Getting fillers is relatively straightforward and completed by the dentist in Trafalgar, IN, within the hour. Dental fillings are incredibly effective, especially when tooth decay is discovered before it worsens. The filler prevents bacteria from spreading and restores the tooth’s health. Dental fillers last for five years or more, depending on the material you have in your tooth.
On the other hand, dental crowns near you function as tooth caps to entirely encase a tooth that has suffered structural impairment because of tooth decay. Materials like porcelain, porcelain fused to metal, composite resin, and gold help make dental crowns. Dental crowns are customizable to appear and feel like your natural teeth. The cost of dental crowns is higher than dental fillings. However, the restorations remain in your mouth for 15 years or more, depending on the care you provide.
Determinants That Dictate the Need for Crowns or Fillings
The Trafalgar dentist considers various factors to determine whether you need a dental crown or filling. Prime among the factors include the following:
The Size of the Cavity
The cavity size in your tooth determines whether you can have dental fillings or must have dental crowns in Trafalgar, IN, to restore the tooth. When tooth decay remains untreated, it expands and gets more profound. Therefore, cavities detected early suffice by having dental fillings. However, if the decay has spread to affect a significant portion of the tooth, the dentist suggests a dental crown.
Condition of Your Tooth
If your tooth has received too many fillings, the tooth structure will have weakened significantly. As a result, the tooth is not strong enough to withstand chewing and biting forces. The lack of strength in the tooth can cause it to crack and break. Furthermore, a tooth with extensive fillings becomes susceptible to pulpitis, an infection of the roots by bacteria. In such cases, dental crowns protect the tooth from infection better.
Root Canal Treatment
If you have undergone root canal therapy to eradicate the infection in your dental pulp, the treatment weakens your tooth by leaving it fragile. Dentists provide a temporary filling over the access hole they create to expose the dental pulp before its eradication. However, dentists recommend having a dental crown placed over the tooth to restore its strength, appearance, and functionality.
Broken or Cracked Teeth
Dental crowns are customized to appear like your natural tooth, making them ideal for restoring broken or cracked teeth. Crowns protect the tooth from further damage and prevent exposure to infections. Using dental fillings to fix a broken tooth is impractical. Therefore the optimal option for repairing cracked and broken teeth is dental crowns.
Besides the above, dentists also suggest you use dental crowns to cover a severely discolored tooth from infections for cosmetic purposes.
Why you might require dental crowns depends on the conditions described above. The primary aim of the dentist when recommending dental crowns is to protect your teeth as best possible while restoring their appearance and strength. If you need a dental crown for cosmetic purposes, the choice is yours because the dentist merely suggests hiding the tooth for aesthetic purposes.
The need for dental crowns becomes essential when you have a severely weakened tooth prone to breakage and further damage from regular use. The restoration protects your natural tooth from damage or infections remaining in your mouth for over a decade with proper dental hygiene. The process for getting dental crowns is intensive and requires at least two visits to the Trafalgar dentist. However, after receiving the crown over your tooth, you can continue using it as your natural tooth for its lifespan.
If you have extensive cavities in your tooth and need adequate protection, kindly schedule an appointment with Indian Creek Family Dentistry providing dental crowns and fillings to restore your tooth.