Crowns

[Dawg52]

On March 4, 2008 I had a temporary crown put on and really haven't thought much else about it. Went out of town and sure enough, broke the darn thing. Just back from my trip so will call the dentist tomorrow.

Just wondered, how long does it take your dentist to get a crown made and installed in your mouth? I have never waited this long. This guy replaced my old dentist as the old one took ER. Heh heh, he might even be a reader here.

[Walt34]

I think mine was about six or eight weeks. Saw an article about how they're made and there's a huge amount of fine detail work involved. They are (or should be) custom made for each individual.

[omni550]

Originally Posted by Dawg52

Just wondered, how long does it take your dentist to get a crown made and installed in your mouth?

The lab that my dentist uses usually gets them made in 2-3 weeks. The dentist can make you a temporary crown to wear in the meantime.

omni

[Khan]

A week or two, in my experience (have nine).

[KB]

I have 2 crowns and each took 2 weeks for the permanent one to be made.

[kumquat]

I had one a few weeks ago. Dentist had a computer assisted gizmo that made it in about 1 hour. He ground the tooth down to accept crown, took some pictures that went into a computer, fiddled with the software to design the crown, took me to the back room to watch an automated machine that used 2 dental drills on something kinda like a lathe make it, stuck it on and charged me $600. Not a bad experience.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Depends on if the dentist makes them in house or sends them out to a lab. If they go out to a lab, depends on their workload. Usually 1-2 weeks.

Some dentists use the new instant process where they can make them in house in under an hour. Have no experience with those but a nearby dentist does a pretty brisk business.

[Dawg52]

Originally Posted by kumquat

I had one a few weeks ago. Dentist had a computer assisted gizmo that made it in about 1 hour. He ground the tooth down to accept crown, took some pictures that went into a computer, fiddled with the software to design the crown, took me to the back room to watch an automated machine that used 2 dental drills on something kinda like a lathe make it, stuck it on and charged me $600. Not a bad experience.

Mine cost $870. Still have dentist insurance so it cost me 1/2 that price. But it runs out soon so might be time to look for a new dentist. Chaps my butt to cost that much and 8 weeks later, I don't have it.

[FreeBird]

I've had two crowns over the last 5 years put in by two different dentists', both gold. The first temporary crown was made from some sort of hard plastic but held up well and the permanent crown was there in two weeks, cost $620..

The second temporary by the 2nd dentist was made from aluminum and held up well with the permanent installed 4 weeks later, cost $575... after a $950. root canal. I now refer to that as my million dollar tooth!

[Moemg]

I just had a new crown put in . Two weeks and $875 .

[Notmuchlonger]

Man, my dentist charges almost 1k for a crown. Everyone else is under 900.

[KB]

I got my crowns in April and June of 2007. Each cost $783 after a cash discount.

[Cattusbabe]

MY God the prices, what did they make them out of? We paid $450 for a crown. Porcelain over gold. Got them done while I was still covered by COBRA so the insurance picked up most of it.

[youbet]

8 crowns. The last one was $800. Others were a while ago. 2 weeks typical with the temporary waiting for the permanent to come from the lab.

[Lancelot]

Had a temporary crown for one week while waiting for the permanent one. Three trips to the dentist, $350 total cost, around July 2006; Bangkok.

[Sue J]

The computer assisted gizmo is called a Cerec and I had 2 of them done, one at a time. It was about 1.5 hours from beginning to end, completely painless, although you do sit for long stretches with your mouth open.

After novocaine the dentist paints the tooth with something for the computer aided 3D photography and he takes a series of pictures. Then he grinds away the part of the tooth that will be replaced. Then he paints whats left and takes another set of 3D pics. Then he sat at the chairside computer and manipulated the images to add or subtract where the material would be generated. My dentist is a real artist and he loves technology. He wanted some additional material so that he could grind it off for a custom fit.

Then he picked out a blank, chosen by size and color, to match the tooth he was replacing. The Cerec machine used a water jet to grind down the blank into the crown. Then the dentist did a few test fittings and ground away what he needed to until he liked the fit and the bite. Then it was glued in and a special light quick hardened the glue.

Each one cost $560 and I had to pay 50%, but I had known this was coming and planned in advance and had the money in the Flexible Spending Account.

Here's a link to the Cerec site.
Sirona - The Dental Company

[Targeting40]

The Cerec is definately the way to go if you have the option. Those types of crowns will last much longer than those created in a lab. An infrared camera is used as opposed to a mold which leads to a better fitting crown with less chance of nasty bacteria getting between the crown and tooth. I've had both and I must say that 1 trip to the dentist office is much better than 4.

[stargazer08]

I watched one of those morning news programs today and they were talking about crowns dentists get from China for 10 bucks and re-sell here for $600+. Aside from poor fitting crowns, a major problem is the crowns contain lead. It's actually the porcelain not the metal underneath that contains lead. I believe one crown tested had 590ppm. They compared that number to the maximum allowable limit of 90ppm on kids toys. I have no idea is the lead in the porcelain is readily absorbed by the body. I'm thinking it's not a good thing to put something that contains lead into your mouth.

[kcowan]

Originally Posted by stargazer08

I watched one of those morning news programs today and they were talking about crowns dentists get from China for 10 bucks and re-sell here for $600+. Aside from poor fitting crowns, a major problem is the crowns contain lead. It's actually the porcelain not the metal underneath that contains lead. I believe one crown tested had 590ppm. They compared that number to the maximum allowable limit of 90ppm on kids toys. I have no idea is the lead in the porcelain is readily absorbed by the body. I'm thinking it's not a good thing to put something that contains lead into your mouth.

I cannot help thinking that this is propaganda being spread by the Crown Labs who want to spread fear to protect their business. I have a friend that sells these crowns and they are guaranteed to be equal to or better than the alternatives. The low prices are not because of material but because of the extremely low labor costs. They can actually get a custom crown from China faster than your dentist can get it from a local lab.

The specifications are transmitted electronically and, with plenty of equipment and no labor shortages, they are turned around in short order. So the delay is strictly shipping time. YMMV

[Dawg52]

Originally Posted by kcowan

They can actually get a custom crown from China faster than your dentist can get it from a local lab.

Based on how long it took to get the crown made, mine must not be from China. I'm going in this afternoon as it came in while I was out of town. I plan to ask if it was made in China.