"I don't want you to cut down my tooth, Doc"

I don't like cutting down beautiful, natural, healthy tooth structure to place a crown or an onlay...UNLESS, I absolutely have to. Why, you may ask? There is no material that I can put there that is better than natural tooth structure....NOTHING.
I have studied with the best in the world and have made it my goal to be a master of my craft so that I have many different treatment options available for my patients. Another thing is that our materials have become advanced to the point that they can tolerate the forces of biting and still last a long time.
So why do many dentists cut down so many teeth for crowns or onlays? Because it is hard to rebuild a tooth, takes a fair amount of time and because insurance companies won't pay dentists to encourage them to save natural tooth structure.
Don't worry though... If you are my patient, I will do my very best to help you keep your beautiful, natural tooth structure with a strong, beautiful direct bonded resin filling.