The History of Dentistry
Why Is Your Dentist Recommending a Crown Rather Than a Filling?
Regina Carlson
If you have problems with a tooth, then you might assume that your dentist will use a filling to fix it. While fillings are a tried and tested way of dealing with tooth damage and decay, they aren't the only way to repair teeth. In some cases, crowns are a better solution. Why does your dentist think that you should have a crown and not a filling?
What's Wrong With Your Tooth?
Fillings can take care of a lot of dental problems, like regular decay and slightly broken teeth; however, they can't manage some issues. For example, if your dental pain is down to a large crack in a tooth, then a filling may not give enough protection. Cracks weaken the tooth's structure and make it easier for it to break, and a filling may not be able to stop big cracks from getting worse and doing more damage.
A crown may also be a better choice if you have a lot of decay on the tooth. If your dentist has to remove a lot of a tooth to clean up its decay, then a crown may give more future stability than a filling.
Have You Had the Tooth Filled Before?
If your problem tooth already has, or had, a filling to fix an old problem, then the tooth may not be in a good enough state to hold a new filling. This is often the case if you had a lot of your original tooth replaced with a large filling. When you take your current filling out of the equation, your dentist looks at how much tooth is left.
If there isn't much tooth left, then your dentist may prefer not to fill it. A filling needs support from its tooth. Large fillings that don't have enough support break down more quickly, especially if they are on your back teeth where they'll be exposed to more stress when you eat.
Over time, the pressure of a large filling may simply damage the small amount of tooth that holds it. This reduces your future options. Crowns need teeth to support them. If a filling failure leaves you with hardly any tooth, you may need to have the tooth removed and to fill the gap with a different treatment like an implant or a bridge.
Talk to a dentist at clinics like Care Dental about the reasons why a crown might be better for you and ask what could happen if you had a filling instead. This information makes it easier for you to decide how to deal with your tooth.
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Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved stories about the past. Whether the stories were about horses, wars, exploration or even dentistry, I loved to hear them. I find that knowing the history of something helps it to make sense and feel approachable. I know that some people have dental anxiety, and I too have suffered, but I also feel like the more you know about dental work and its history, the easier it is. This blog is dedicated to exploring the history of dentistry – What did ancient people use for fillings? How did early dentists numb their patients? Who was the first dentist? Those are just some of the questions I plan to answer here. Ready? Okay, let's dive into the history of dentistry together!