Here is Why You May Need Dental Crowns Instead of a Filling
Dental crowns are among the most common restorative procedures that dentist perform. Since they have been around for a very long time, most people are familiar with what a crown does and how they are used to protect a damaged tooth. However, there is often some level of cost associated with dental crowns, even when insurance is paying a portion. This cost leads some of our patients to wonder if they do actually need to get crowns or if they can just get by with a filling.
We always recommend what is best for your teeth, whether that is dental crowns or a filling or even a dental implant. Thus, it is important that you understand why one may need a crown and what purpose the crown itself serves.
Dental Crowns
Dental crowns are commonly referred to as dental caps since they cover an entire area of the tooth or the entire tooth. Customized to specification in a laboratory, the dental crown performs a variety of functions that are very important. Two of these functions include preventing infection and support for damaged teeth. The dental crown works to prevent an infection by covering the teeth that have a great deal of decay. We are always working to prevent bacteria from spreading, which means it is often wiser to get a dental crown after removing the infection.
Upon placement, the dental crown immediately provides support for damaged teeth. The extra support helps to preserve the functionality of the teeth themselves. It also prevents further damage from occurring or from forcing the mouth to adapt to a damaged tooth, which can lead to misalignments or a bite that is not quite aligned.
Dental Crown or Dental Filling
The question then arises, when does a patient actually need a dental crown and when can they get by with just a filling? Ultimately the choice to get a crown belongs to the patient. We will give the patient the necessary information and advice to help them make an educated decision. Patients need to keep in mind that protecting their teeth, and keeping them in the best condition, is a better health choice all around. Crowns are necessary after a Root Canal Procedure to protect the integrity of the tooth. Root canal teeth become brittle and weak because the nerve is no longer viable and there is no blood supply to that tooth.
Dental Crown Uses
Here are a few circumstances that could occur where we will almost always recommend that you get a dental crown instead of waiting or proceeding with just a filling.
A broken tooth or chipped tooth
In this case, it is strongly advised to get a crown. Once a tooth is chipped, cracked, or broken it is important to get it fixed to ensure that an infection can't set in. Since the tooth is already damaged, we want to minimize the risk and prevent further breakage.
A badly decayed tooth.
If a tooth is decayed to the point where it is affecting neighboring teeth, it is time to consider a cap that can prevent the spread of the bacteria to other areas of the mouth.
A large filling
In some cases, older fillings are too large and hence not secure. In this case, we would consider a dental crown, as a replacement to the filling that would look better and also provide more strength to the tooth itself.
For more information on dental crowns, we invite you to call us at (661) 249-1122 and schedule an appointment with our dental office.
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The California Department of public health has provided guidance for resuming deferred and preventive Dental care. We will be resuming all dental care starting May 18, 2020.
To our patients, we hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.
Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.
Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of those agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations.
You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:
Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You will be asked those same questions again when you arrive to the office.
We ask that all patients wear a mask to the office.
We ask that patients call the office upon arrival.
All patients will have their temperature taken prior to entering the office.
We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines or a coffee bar, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you are offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at (661)323-7337 or visit our website at www.brimhalldentalgroup.com
Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.