Dental Crown Question

[Rose Pink]

It seems I have an abcess under my back molar and will need a root canal procedure. I also have a couple of cavities on the same tooth. I have the option of having a crown made to cover the hole for the root canal as well as take care of the fillings--or I can simply have the hole plugged and the cavities filled. The crown costs more but should be a longer-lasting solution. I'm not sure what to do. Suggestions?

 

[AwayWeGo]

Crowna-Crowna-Crowna.

It seems I have an abcess under my back molar and will need a root canal procedure. I also have a couple of cavities on the same tooth. I have the option of having a crown made to cover the hole for the root canal as well as take care of the fillings--or I can simply have the hole plugged and the cavities filled. The crown costs more but should be a longer-lasting solution. I'm not sure what to do. Suggestions?

I think it's a no-brainer -- go for a solid gold crown.

With the tooth way in back like that, you won't need to worry that a custom-made golden nugget will affect the appearance of your smile.

Gold is the most durable material for dental prosthetics, so with a root canal to take care of the abscess (& thereby any future nerve problems in that tooth) plus a solid gold on top, you should be good to go long into the future, dentally speaking. That is to say, a gold crown on top of a root canal should last a lifetime, whereas the plug & filling option leaves you facing the possibility of needing a crown on that tooth later on anyhow -- sooner rather than later if our family's experience is typical.

I have a bunch of gold crowns -- only 1 of'm on top of a root canal & 1 on top of a solid titanium implant. All the others -- plus 1 farther front porcelain crown -- are on top of natural roots that I can only hope stay healthy. Every single crown has been trouble free -- all of'm -- & I'm glad I got'm when I needed'm.

Click here for the whole story -- more than most folks would care to know unless they're wondering about how to proceed with their own major serious dental adventures.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[applegirl]

Unfortunately I have had several root canals and crowns even though I'm only 36! I would defintely go for the gold crown as recommended by Alan after the root canal. The gold will last you the rest of your life.

 

[Kal]

Compared to a porcelain, gold is a soft metal and does wear over time. BTW, with gold at >$1000 per ounce, what's the price for a crown?

 

[AwayWeGo]

Gold With Some Bite To It. (Gold Crown Is Not Just For Timeshares Any More.)

Compared to a porcelain, gold is a soft metal and does wear over time. BTW, with gold at >$1000 per ounce, what's the price for a crown?

My dentist added a $200 "materials surcharge" for my latest solid gold crown. (So it goes.) He recommends gold over porcelain for durability -- specially for back (chewing) teeth rather than front (biting) teeth.

My solid titanium implant & solid gold crown on top of it were both not covered by my dental plan. But my perio-implant specialist (who installed the solid titanium implant) & my general dentist (who installed the gold crown) both charged me what they would have received from dental policies that cover those procedures. That is, the total combined cost was about $5,000 instead of $6,000.

That means I've approximately as much money tied up in 1 tooth as in 4 timeshares. Who'd a-thunk?

BTW, solid gold isn't always the same as 24-karat gold. Dental gold is more apt to be somewhere in the 10- to 14-karat category -- lower in actual gold content but not as soft as 24-karat gold. Maybe there are some actual real-world dentists on TUG-BBS who can spell it out for us in detail.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Kal]

Reason I mention gold being soft is that I've got an old gold crown on one of my molars and it did wear thru. Once that happens it's not as if it can be patched. But it can be filled like a cavity.

My guess is the dental industry just charges whatever premium they can get for gold. I doubt if they pay much attention to the purity.

 

[Glynda]

Gold crown

I had one gold crown placed at the very lower back many years ago. I've since gotten all my filled teeth replaced with porcelain crowns. The dentist doesn't want to replace the gold crown as he says it is stronger than porcelain and the lower back jaw takes a lot of pressure. I'm still considering replacing it because it does show sometimes when I smile and I hate it, just hate it!!!!

 

[sstamm]

I agree that you should go ahead and do the crown now. With several cavities, you may need one later anyway. The other thing my endodontist mentioned when I was in the same situation- once the root to the tooth is gone, the tooth will gradually become more brittle, and therefore more likely to break anyway.

Good luck!

 

[Cathy in Boston]

As someone with 10 crowns (!!!!) here is another vote for a gold crown.

 

[wackymother]

Too bad you can't have the dentist melt down an old ring or earring for the gold.

 

[AwayWeGo]

The Next Best Gold Recycling Option.

Too bad you can't have the dentist melt down an old ring or earring for the gold.

You can go round the house gathering up old class rings, broken necklaces, earrings that used to be a complete pair till 1 got lost, outgrown finger rings, & various other unusable golden items that you sell to a scrap gold dealer, then use the money to pay for a brand-new solid gold dental crown.

That way the dentist doesn't have to bother with the actual metallurgy & you still get the (economic) benefit of offsetting the costs of dental work by recycling old gold.

BTW, a cubic mile of sea water contains about a zillion dollars' worth of dissolved gold. Unfortunately it costs about 2 zillion dollars to extract dissolved gold from a cubic mile of sea water.

The situation is not unlike accidentally flushing a $1,000 diamond ring down the toilet, then paying the plumber $2,000 to go looking for it down the pipes.

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[wackymother]

Sadly, I have no old gold sitting around. I have a scrawny little wedding band that I guess I'd better hang on to, since the husband that goes with it is also still around.

 

[moonstone]

Too bad you can't have the dentist melt down an old ring or earring for the gold.

I used to work with a woman who kind of did the opposite. When her mother passed away she had the funeral home yank all the gold crowned teeth. A jeweller friend melted the gold into a free form nuggat that she put on a nice chain and wore it constantly. It looked pretty but I thought it was kind of gross!
~Diane

 

[Rose Pink]

I was leaning towards the crown and feel better now that all of you have endorsed that as the first choice. I don't know if I can afford gold, however. I will discuss that with my dentist.

I don't have enough gold jewelry to sell. I did see something on television the other day about gold parties. The ladies come with their assorted gold jewelry. It gets weighed and they get a check immediately for a percentage of the going rate for gold. The assessors then take the gold and sell it netting themselves a profit for their efforts. Sort of makes Tupperware and Mary Kay parties seem blah.

The other side of my jaw is now starting to feel like the one with the abscess. What is going on?! I feel like I am suddenly falling apart. It's not just the teeth. I have an impinged shoulder, a spur on same shoulder, pains in my elbow and wrist (tendonitis). I am so tired and haggard lately.

 

[AKFisher]

My mom has been a dental assistant for nearly 20 years. When I had to get a crown on my back molar, she insisted I get gold, because it is "gentler" to the opposing tooth when you bite.

 

[Blues]

I was leaning towards the crown and feel better now that all of you have endorsed that as the first choice. I don't know if I can afford gold, however. I will discuss that with my dentist.

I just had a crown put in on a molar. In fact, I still have the temporary; the permanent gets installed next week. My dentist told me that the price for porcelain and gold were "about the same". Hmm, I wonder if that means that his lab charges too much for the porcelain? Anyway, since it's not the back molar but the one further to the front, I chose porcelain. Interesting comment from AKFisher, though. My dentist didn't explain that the gold could be gentler on the opposing tooth. If he had, I may have gone with it, since the opposing tooth is starting to get a little sensitive too. I suspect it's too late to change my mind, though.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Going For The Gold.

My dentist told me that the price for porcelain and gold were "about the same".

Mine too -- except that the $200 "materials surcharge" applies only to solid gold crowns, not to solid porcelain crowns.

My dentist didn't explain that the gold could be gentler on the opposing tooth. If he had, I may have gone with it, since the opposing tooth is starting to get a little sensitive too. I suspect it's too late to change my mind, though.

Maybe not. The Chief Of Staff also just recently got a solid gold dental crown. She's concerned people might notice a golden gleam when she smiles wide. The dentist said he'll change it for her if she wants -- no extra charge for switching to porcelain if she doesn't go for the gold.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[dioxide45]

Usually a dental insurance company will only cover a gold crown on back molars. I think that may have been when they were cheaper than porcelain. Now that they are about the same, I am not sure.
I had a root canal on a back molar in 1998 and it also had a filling from a teenage year cavity. My dentist at the time put in a permanent filling and I have had that to this day. Every time my dentist now (different dentist) sees that tooth, I can see $$$ show up in her eyes. I haven't had is done yet since going there for the last 4 years.

 

[otis8756]

Pull It!!!

If it's the back tooth, pull it, you won't miss it

 

[PigsDad]

If it's the back tooth, pull it, you won't miss it

No way! Electively pulling a tooth that can be saved via a crown is the last thing I would do. That can cause more stress on the remaining teeth and they will fail earlier with the increased stress.

It may be the cheapest / easiest short-term solution, but never a good idea in the long term.

Kurt (all 32 original teeth, and planning to keep it that way)

 

[ninjashoes]

I can't eat hard things where I had my root canal, I have heard that I need a crown to keep it from becoming brittle, I do not fully understand though.

 

[geekette]

I got a silver crown a couple months ago and hardly notice that it's "a fake tooth."

I went with silver over gold due to some weird paranoia from something on tv years ago where people were not only mugged for their wallets and jewelry, but the gold in their mouths.

My out-of-pocket was in the $400 range. Crowns will never be a cheap procedure.