Candidates For Dental Crowns Vs. Implants​​​​​​​

Candidates For Dental Crowns Vs. Implants​​​​​​​

Date Published:
04-16-2018​​​​​​​

Not everyone is automatically a good candidate for every type of dental restoration. Dental crowns may be a vital component in dental implants, but the procedures to fit both are dramatically different. As such, it is essential that our dental or implant surgeon carries out a full assessment of your dental and general health, as well as a physical examination, before approving you for either procedure.
 

What Makes Someone a Good Candidate for Dental Crowns?

Dental crowns are considered to be a minimally-invasive procedure, which makes them suitable for a wide variety of different patients. Dental crowns sit over the top of the affected tooth, encasing it inside rather than replacing it with a fake tooth. After your crown has been placed, it will restore the shape, size and appearance of your damaged tooth, plus return the full function of your teeth.

 

Dental Crowns are typically recommended for patients who have teeth that are:

  • Severely eroded/worn down. This is often due to grinding (a condition known as bruxism) or suffering from GERD.

  • Fractured, or weak and at risk of fracturing.

  • Severely decayed, beyond what can be repaired by a cavity filling.

  • An unusual shape

  • Badly discolored, which is usually a result of trauma to the tooth

  • Damaged in any other way.

 

Before a crown can be fitted, it is necessary to prepare the affected tooth. This means either filing it down so that the crown can be fitted properly over the top or building it up so that it can support the restoration. Although this process is very straightforward, our dentist will need to check that your tooth is healthy enough to make the procedure viable.
 

What Makes Someone a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

If our dentist recommends that you consider dental implants, you probably already have, or soon will, have a gap in your smile. Although our dentist will do everything possible to ensure you retain your natural teeth, sometimes an extraction is the only real option. Fortunately, dental implants mean that you don’t have to live with a gap in your smile.

 

Dental implants are prosthetic teeth (supplied as a porcelain crown) that are attached to titanium posts. Each post is inserted into your jaw bone at a pre-determined location beneath your missing tooth, and act as an anchor for the prosthetic above it. However, for dental implants to be successful, the titanium post needs to fuse with your jaw bone in a process known as osseointegration. For this to happen, you need to have a sufficient amount and density of bone in the jaw. You must also have healthy gums. If either your gums or jaw bone are compromised in any way, you may not be a suitable candidate for dental implants. In some instances, it may be possible for you to receive a bone graft that could make implants a viable option.

 

Dental implants are extremely robust and secure and are a great solution for missing teeth. However, they are not always chosen purely for functional reasons. A small but growing number of patients are now choosing to replace teeth that are cosmetically unpleasant with dental implants, so that they might enjoy a more attractive smile.

 

Before you can be approved for a dental implant procedure, our dentist will need to meet with you to discuss your reasons for choosing this solution, and what your expectations for your smile are once the procedure has been completed. A thorough assessment of your mouth and jaw will also be conducted, which will almost certainly include x-rays so that the quality of your jaw bone can be determined.

 

If you have further questions about candidacy for either dental crowns or dental implants, call us to schedule an appointment and our dentist will be happy to discuss this with you in further detail.