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Dentistry has done a great job with convincing patients that crowns are a very good thing and should be valued. Resin bonded fillings are a mediocre restoration and should take little time and should be cheap.
Unfortunately, the truth is just the opposite.
Crowns are the worst possible restoration for a tooth and should only be placed as a treatment of last resort when no other restoration will save a tooth. The lone exception is back teeth that have had root canals which MUST be protected with crowns.
Patients have been convinced that having a crown is a very positive thing and their insurance company usually even pays for HALF of it which further supports the belief that crowns must be a good thing.
The BEST way to save a tooth is to leave the most amount of natural tooth structure when restoring or fixing a tooth. A crown takes the MOST amount of tooth structure and dramatically weakens the tooth. So why is a crown so valued?????
Placing crowns is a good way to make money.
A good way to save teeth is for the dentist to learn to place well done bonded resin fillings under a rubber dam. Many dentists will tell you that the hole in the tooth is 'too big' for a filling...Sorry that usually means that there is a lack of talent to place a well done bonded filling under a rubber dam.
To sum up this lecture: Well done bonded resins placed with a rubber dam are highly beneficial for a tooth and crowns are highly destructive to a tooth and should be used sparingly.
(And in my office, you can have 3 1/2 well done resin posterior fillings for the cost of ONE CROWN.)
OK class dismissed.
(PS: I expect this blog will make many dentists very unhappy.)
