Have you ever visited the dentist and heard your dentist recommend a dental crown. Have you ever wondered why a filling can’t suffice? At Kuhn Dental Associates, we not only provide our patients with the best procedures for long-term dental health, but we also believe it’s important to educate our patients on why these treatments are sometimes necessary. Although dental crowns cost more than dental fillings, they can restore your tooth in ways dental fillings cannot. Discover why we might recommend a dental crown over a dental filling.
The Purpose of Different Teeth
Before we jump into why dental crowns are necessary instead of fillings, it’s important to understand the role each of your teeth plays in your mouth when it comes to chewing and eating. To start, molars are the biggest teeth and rest in the back of your mouth. Molars hold the most power when biting down and are the teeth that do the most work. The molars located on your upper jaw have three to four large roots while the molars on your lower jaw only have two. The reason for this is that the lower jaw’s bone is thicker and denser.
Teeth located in the middle of the mouth aren’t as big because they don’t require as much force. The front teeth serve the purpose of cutting and smiling and that’s about it. However, the size and shape of the front two teeth actually set an example for the rest of the teeth. This is known as the golden proportion. When receiving dental crowns, it’s important for the crowns to resemble the natural teeth in order to not throw off the rest of the surrounding teeth and bite.
When to Use Dental Fillings
So when is it appropriate to opt for a dental filling instead of a dental crown? Usually, we prefer using composite filling material when there are small amounts of tooth decay or we’re filling a small hole. If the hole is too large, composite material might not be able to reduplicate your perfectly formed tooth; therefore, throwing off the golden proportion. We only use fillings for small holes.
When to Use Dental Crowns
When we need to fill a large hole, fix cracked teeth, worn down teeth, broken teeth, heavily decayed teeth, and etc., a dental crown is the best solution. This is because dental crowns allow us to recreate your perfectly shaped tooth much better than a dental filling can. In addition, it provides more strength and protection. The results also look completely natural, no matter how much damage the tooth has experienced. As an added bonus, we can create your dental crown in our office using our CEREC so it’s placed the same day as your procedure. You don’t have to wait around to restore your smile.
If you would like to learn more about dental crowns and fillings or you think you need one, please contact our dental office in the Aberdeen, Pinehurst, and Sandhills area by calling (910) 692-4450 or using our online form.
