topic Re: Crowns in Wellness

Crowns

JB116 — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:23:20 GMT

Hello. 1st time poster but long time shopper & reader of the boards so I hope you won't dismiss me.

I went to my dentist yesterday and was told that I need 3 crowns. 2 on the bottom and 1 on top.

Only 1 was marked as a priority but because of the state of my Health Savings Account I can't do it until January. 1/3/17 to be exact.

I haven't had any pain in the teeth/gums but I saw the pics and the xrays she took and I saw what she was talking about so I agree that it should be done.

Since I have a little time to wait I was curious if anyone else has crowns and how they have held up for you?

Thanks for the info!

Re: Crowns

Vivian — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:27:57 GMT

I have several crowns and have had no problems with any of them. Crowns are expensive but taking proper care of your teeth is very important for your overall health.

Re: Crowns

Peaches McPhee — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:32:05 GMT

I have had many crowns, and they mostly are fine, years later. With anything medical, there can be complications - I did have one 'go bad' and had to have a root canal.

Re: Crowns

Renata22 — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:33:51 GMT

Hi and Welcome!

I don't have too much info to give you. I have had alot of dental work, a bridge, an implant and now a temporary crown. I get the permanent one tomorrow. The temp came unglued a few weeks ago. Was going to go in and get it redone, but I put it back in and it has stayed and been fine. I figured why get it glued when they'll just have to pry it out soon to put the perm in. The only problem I had was the night it fell out, I drank some cold liquid and it was so very painful. I didn't realize it was so raw. I put the temp back on and have had no pain or trouble since.

I know you were looking for how long the permanent crown lasts, but I figured I would tell you what I know anyway. Hope everything goes well for you. It takes all I've got to go in to see the dentist. Always a scary thing.

Re: Crowns

q lover — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:38:00 GMT

Hi, sorry to hear you need three crowns. I have several, and haven't had any problems with the crowns themselves. I have one that I've had for close to 40 years, and it's still as good as new. I have had a couple of root canals go bad and the teeth had to be pulled so that was money down the drain, but it happens. I might hesitate to get another root canal, but not a crown...

Good luck with your dental work!

Re: Crowns

Q4u — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:39:44 GMT

I have had bruxism (TMJ) so badly since I was about 8 that ALL of my back teeth have crowns on them, I've even split on back tooth! My crowns at that time were GOLD and I've only had one gold crown replaced and they are about 45 years old. I've had additional crowns put on as the remainder back teeth have suffered, but those crowns are the white material they do now and are roughly 15 years old. I've had one of those replaced but I put a terrible strain on my teeth with or without a "guard".

They are now telling me that my gums have receeded enough to require one of my old crowns to be replaced so that it reaches higher to my new gum line.... however, I'm planning to put this off as long as I can as it doesn't hurt.....

Crowns ~should~ last a long time with no problems.... mine have lasted a very long time with incredible stress to them! Good luck!

Re: Crowns

Carmie — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:45:44 GMT

I have one crown and it is stainless steel. It is the last tooth on the left lower side. After the crown was put in, I found out a few months later that I needed a root canal. They drilled through the crown and did the root canal, then filled the tooth with amalgam, I have had no,problems with the crown.

About 20 years ago, my husband had 6 teeth on the top and 6 on the bottom crowned for cosmetic purposes. They were all front teeth, he has never had a problem with them and they still look great.

I wouldn't worry about getting them. Modern dentistry is wonderful and you will be protecting your smile and your health for life.

Re: Crowns

Mominohio — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:46:56 GMT

I have several, and some are at least a decade old now. No real problems and the end up feeling 'normal' in a relatively short time.

It can be a little intimidating both physically (I'm a big baby about dental work and pain) as well as financially. Make sure you have a good dentist, and you will be glad, in the long run, you did the work.

Re: Crowns

freakygirl — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:58:33 GMT

JB116, welcome!

nothing to fear about crowns. i had 2 done for the first time in my life, last year. if you have a good dentist, and i sure hope you do, then you'll be fine. she'll shoot your gums with anesthesia when she preps the tooth for the crown, and other than the pressure and force that you might feel, there's hardly any pain. it will take a while, so the most tiring part is having to keep your mouth open. she'll put in a temporary crown until the permanent one is done. mine took 3 weeks. the actual installation of the crown is pain free and may take around half an hour. don't stress about it. you'll be ok. i haven't had any problems with mine. good luck!

Re: Crowns

sweetee2 — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 16:53:05 GMT

I'm just curious as to my she told you why. I have had many crows for many years. Usually it's because you have broken a tooth or decay to the point of root canal then crown. Just wondering.

Re: Crowns

SeaMaiden — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 16:56:51 GMT

@JB116 Hi! I have a mouthful of crowns.....all of my molars. Grew up in the 50's-60's when big mercury fillings were the standard.....and I had every molar with a mercury filling.(. Mercury fillings crack the tooth eventually an or will leak causing decay)....thus now I have crowns.

My first crown was put in about 25 years ago.....that just recently had to have a root canal as decay had gotten in under the crown over the years. So, they can last a long time.....now I have had other crowns more recent that the tooth died within a year and YUP another root canal..... you really never know how long the tooth will last after the trauma of doing the crown....most crowns end up as a root canal down the road.... it is a waiting game.

At this point at age 60.... I am just thankful when I do not have teeth that hurt ( right now). This last year I had two root canals on crowned teeth crowned a while ago. It is just a waiting game..... I use Floride paste and have regular cleaning, floss etc..... the two root canals cost me about $3000. I have nothing left in my HSA account.

Re: Crowns

Nightowlz — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 17:19:27 GMT

You might want to do your own research on the different type crowns to see which one you want.

My dentist always wants to use Porcelain Crowns because he can make them in the office & make more money.

I have 2 Porcelain on teeth closer to the front because you can see them when I smile. The other crowns I have are gold alloys because it will wear & last longer. My crowns have lasted a many years.

There are four different types of dental crowns.

Ceramic — These are used for restoring front teeth, and are popular in this area for their ability to blend with your natural tooth color. The crown is made of a porcelain-based material.
Porcelain-fused to metal – This crown provides a stronger bond than regular porcelain because it is connected to a metal structure. It's also extremely durable.
Gold alloys – This crown is a mix of gold, copper and other metals. In addition to providing a strong bond to the tooth, it doesn't fracture, nor does it wear away the tooth itself.
Base metal alloys – This crown is made up of non-noble metals that are highly resistant to corrosion, and make for a very strong crown. It also requires the least amount of healthy tooth to be removed prior to fitting.

Re: Crowns

LilacTree — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 17:21:03 GMT

@JB116 wrote:
Hello. 1st time poster but long time shopper & reader of the boards so I hope you won't dismiss me.

I went to my dentist yesterday and was told that I need 3 crowns. 2 on the bottom and 1 on top.

Only 1 was marked as a priority but because of the state of my Health Savings Account I can't do it until January. 1/3/17 to be exact.

I haven't had any pain in the teeth/gums but I saw the pics and the xrays she took and I saw what she was talking about so I agree that it should be done.

Since I have a little time to wait I was curious if anyone else has crowns and how they have held up for you?

Thanks for the info!

JB

I've have spent thousands on my teeth over the years, including recently. I have bridges and crowns on all of my teeth. Some have lasted half my life (78) and some have had to be replaced.

The one thing I would not do is root canals. They are hugely expensive, and almost always have to be replaced.

Re: Crowns

lulu2 — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 17:35:28 GMT

I had several crowns (all molars) dating back to the 1970s. Time, and a car accident rendered some of them "expired", as there were cracks and/or cavities under them. The last few years three of crowns had to be removed, the remainder of the tooth pulled, then a dental implant with new crown replaced the missing tooth. Though it was a lengthy procedure (8-10 months for each) and expensive, it was well worth it. Crowned teeth can be sensitive, a dental implant is not.

My crowns lasted 40+ years. I did get my parents' money's worth out of them.

@JB116

Many here would suggest a second opinion. I have full faith in my dentist so if he said I needed this work, and I saw the x-rays, I would go ahead with the work.

Re: Crowns

ChynnaBlue — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 17:37:28 GMT

I have two, one on an upper left molar and one on a lower right molar.

The one on the upper left I can't even feel or noticed most of the time, but whenever my sinuses act up, I get a toothache in that molar that I didn't before the crown. I've always had sinus issues and had to have my wisdom teeth pulled when I was in high school because they were going to be impacted into my sinuses if they didn't get removed, so it's possible I'd have the pain even if I didn't have as crown, but it didn't start until I got it. The crown has been in place for at least a dozen years now and I've had no other issues with it. There's nothing the dentist can do and the dental x-rays always looks good. An MRI of my sinuses showed issues there. Again, I don't believe any issues were caused by the crown, I think it just made it more sensitive. It gets so bad now when I get a sinus infection that I can't chew or eat and just cry.

The one on the lower right molar I've had for 2 years and last month it popped off while I was eating something. (It wasn't even hard or sticky candy, it was cereal or something benign.) I didn't know what it was at first and just spit the food out into a tissue and tossed it in the trash thinking there was a hard piece of grain or something in there. A moment later, I felt the hole where there used to be more of a tooth and realized what happened and what the hard thing had been. I rushed to the trash and rescued it - lucky the trash can was pretty full of non-icky stuff and the tissue with the crown had landed on top of some packaging. I washed it and soaked it in some rubbing alcohol and contacted the dentist. She had me come in at lunch time and was able to further clean up the crown up and cement it back into place, saving me hundreds of dollars. Hopefully it will hold this time. Sometimes that happens with crowns, so always be on the lookout if you bite into something you don't expect to be hard.

Aside from that, mine haven't given me any trouble and most of the time I forget I have them.

Re: Crowns

SeaMaiden — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 17:53:29 GMT

Concerning crowns popping off....be sure when you floss between teeth with crowns you pull the floss through , not down and out. Also do not use anything except string floss....no sticks etc.

Re: Crowns

JB116 — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 18:51:00 GMT

@sweetee2 wrote:
I'm just curious as to my she told you why. I have had many crows for many years. Usually it's because you have broken a tooth or decay to the point of root canal then crown. Just wondering.

I have several very old fillings that are staring to break down. This has caused the priority one to start to crack and slightly decay. She said the best thing was to replace the filling and do the crown.

The fillings are at least 20 years old and she said that it's normal wear for them to break down like they are after so long.

She took both xrays and HD pics and showed me and I saw it for myself what she was talking about. Pretty cool mini-camera. LOL

And the bottom teeth she said are the work horses of the mouth where I predominently chew food so it's pretty necessary. I love my dentist and I trust her and her staff completely. We've been going there for about 7 years now.

Re: Crowns

Shelbelle — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 20:24:31 GMT

I have several too, my last one is considered to be state of the art, it is made from Zirconium.

Re: Crowns

Jacie — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 20:29:20 GMT

I have 2 gold crowns and 2 ceramic crowns. The oldest was 32 years old (ceramic) was recently removed to be replaced. It was my original 1st crown.

Then it was discovered that I had internal resorption of that particular tooth. So I am in the process of having a dental implant, hence the toothwas pulled.

I have never had a problem withh my crowns and feel I did get my money's worth out of the 32 yr. old one!

Re: Crowns

Mmsfoxxie — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 21:07:31 GMT

There ya go, @JB116.....nobody dismissed your very good question, lol.

I have several crowns but I can't add anything different to the conversation.

Welcome to the boards. Don't be a stranger (smile).