Are crowns better than fillings?

Are crowns better than fillings?

Any treatment that is advised must be done so because it happens to be the most appropriate choice for any given situation.

Crowns offer a different advantage to fillings. They are both chosen for different reasons. Therefore we cannot say that a crown is necessarily better than a filling or, conversely that a filling is better than a crown. Find out more about our restorative treatments.

A crown protects the remaining tooth structure. If a crown is not done in these situations and a large filling is left then there could be an increased risk of tooth fracturing in the future.

patient and dentist photo

Fillings restore teeth

Fillings are used in situations where most of the tooth is still intact and does not need any further support. Hence a filling simply rebuilds and restores a tooth back to its original morphology and shape.

They do not have any additional support or protection function. However, the tooth coloured fillings done these days adhere to the tooth in such a way as to provide an excellent seal between the tooth and filling. This concept is called “bonding”.

Crowns support and protect weakened teeth

A crown is usually advised when the remaining tooth structure has been weakened and the tooth now is unable to support itself. This can be due to a number of reasons: by previous damage or fractures, past treatments of repetitive fillings, deep large fillings and root canal treatments.

This can lead to a very poor prognosis for the tooth in the future, which may eventually need to be extracted. So to prevent the loss of the tooth in this way we recommend a crown treatment. Find out more.

even distribution of bite forces

A crown is a way of preventing biting forces from putting excessive pressure on any one point of the tooth.

A crown allows the chewing forces to be evenly distributed and dissipated all over the tooth and not just at any one focal point.

This means that the tooth is less likely to break in the future and hence will last a long time.

The main disadvantage of crowns over fillings

The main disadvantage comes in the amount of tooth preparation or tooth cutting needed when doing a crown versus a filling. Do crowns hurt?

Fillings (especially tooth coloured one) do not need any additional cavity preparation. We simply remove any sharp edges and clean up any decay and staining. Then the tooth with whatever resulting shaped cavity is simply filled.

We use a very strong adhesive to bond the filling to the tooth; thus providing a very good seal.

In regards to a crown, a large part of the tooth needs to be prepared and cut to accommodate the thickness of the porcelain.

Unfortunately, with crowns, we cannot make them super thin since they are supporting the whole tooth. Find out if a crown hurts more than a filling.T

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An excellent seal between the tooth and artificial material in both cases

Both crowns and fillings are sealed using bonding techniques which inhibits and deterioration at the tooth/filling interjunction. It also further inhibits any bacteria from attacking the teeth any this point.

As you can see, no one treatment is “better” than the other. It’s simply a case of choosing the right treatment for the right job.

We have consulting rooms in London and Hertfordshire. You can book a free consultation with us today. For more information on our treatments or if you’re interested in booking an appointment, contact our Hertford practice on 01992 827118.

Our aim is for your crown treatment to be completely painless and comfortable.

There are a number of techniques we use

There are a number of techniques we use to ensure that you are very comfortable throughout the treatment and subsequent to it. These include:

Minimal pain during crown treatment

First of all most treatments with a crown are on teeth that are already heavily filled or that they have had a root canal treatment done on them beforehand. This means that very little sound tooth tissue is present. Hence, when preparing or shaping the tooth for a crown, you will not feel any pain.

Regardless of this we always provide local anaesthesia to the area in which the tooth is present. We use special numbing gels before this stage on the gum and a unique technique to administer the local anaesthetic. As a result, you will not feel any pain whatsoever during the treatment.

We also use advanced technology “drills’. This means they are smoother and faster.

In the hands of our skilled and experienced clinicians, they have tremendous control of the crown shaping and tooth preparation procedure. For you, the whole experience is quick and minimally invasive which means that the drilling part of the process will be shorter in time than ever before.

Better resulting bite with trial crown to prevent post-operative soreness

  • Most symptoms on a crown result from the patient not being able to bite properly on the tooth. This means that they are constantly “hitting” the tooth every time they speak or chew. This can leave the tooth very sore or tender.

    We have incorporated a special technique to determine the correct biting surfaces of the crown before we place a crown in your mouth. It is a similar process to creating a “Trial Smile” except this is a Trial Crown.

We do various measurements and design work before we treat the tooth in the Treatment Planning stage. Thereafter, based upon our plan we create a temporary tooth which you wear for the two weeks that it takes to create the final crown. This we call a “Trial Crown”.

The Trial Crown

The Trial Crown is made of a very hard plastic and is cemented to the tooth using a semi-permanent bonding technique. This allows us to remove the temporary crown without damaging the underlying tooth when we come to fit the final crown. The Trial Crown is primarily used to test out the biting surface of the crown to make sure it is compatible with your teeth. We want the resulting bite to be stable and harmonious. If we notice any cracks or signs of wear on the Trial Crown then we do not fit the final crown until it is corrected. This way you can be sure of minimal post-operative symptoms.
Dedicated to nervous patients
Over the last 25 years, we have totally dedicated ourselves to the care of those patients that may experience anxiety or who are nervous about the dentist. We understand that part of your treatment to not causing any pain is for it to be as comfortable in every area and not just in your mouth. Find out more. We have a whole host of techniques and products that can alleviate your symptoms. They range from aromatherapy and detailed care to meditative innovative products like Nucalm. We can also offer sedation to those that may need it. As a result of all the above processes, we ensure a completely pain-free experience for those patients needing a crown treatment.