My tooth’s not hurting. So, do I really need that crown right now? Here’s three reasons why you might not want to wait to get that tooth protected.
As a fellow human being, I can understand—if something’s not hurting or not causing you pain or discomfort, there really is not a lot of motivation to get it fixed. But I want to let you know the reasons why putting this treatment off might raise bigger problems down the road.
1. Hidden Cracks and Tooth Fractures
If a tooth has a large filling, it might have small cracks and the tooth is starting to break down. And while this might not be symptomatic to you, you might not feel it. Unfortunately, a lot of times those dental cracks will undermine large parts of the tooth, and that can lead to the tooth fracturing.
Now, if the tooth breaks and it’s above the gum line, a lot of times it’s not that big a deal. Obviously, it can be painful, but often we can save that tooth with a crown. Unfortunately, if your tooth breaks and it breaks really far below the gum line or down near the bone, sometimes we can’t save the tooth. And at that point, the tooth has to be extracted, and then we’re either looking at a bridge or an implant or something a lot more involved. Whereas if you know you have a problem tooth that might need that crown in the near future, delaying it could lead to much bigger problems down the road.
2. Aesthetic Concerns and Smile Changes
The second reason why you might not want to wait is because if you’re doing crowns for aesthetic reasons—to make your smile prettier or to make your smile look better—waiting can make the whole process more complicated. Sometimes if there’s just one trouble tooth or one area that’s slightly turned, rotated, discolored, or impacting the way your smile looks, addressing it early with one or two teeth is a much simpler process.
If you wait too long, you might start getting shifting or breakdown of those adjacent teeth, and all of a sudden now you’re having to address all the teeth in the smile zone, whereas before that problem could have been solved with a more minimal plan.
3. Preventing Root Canal Complications
The last benefit to getting a crown on a tooth when you realize it first has a problem—in addition to those small cracks leading to potential fractures—is that if you have cracks, breakdown, or decay that leads to a tooth needing a crown, putting it off can allow the decay or cracks to reach the center part of the tooth where the nerve is. That can result in needing a root canal.
One of the issues with that is post-root canal, sometimes you have to do more involved treatment than just a simple crown. You also have to go through the root canal process before the crown. Whereas if the tooth is on the borderline and you can protect it with a crown ahead of time, sometimes you can eliminate the need for a root canal and further problems.
The Right Timing and Conversation
That’s not to say if you have a problem with a tooth or are concerned about a tooth, you should immediately get it crowned. There are plenty of times where we have patients come in after their normal hygiene checks, and we see some issues and areas of concern. A lot of times we’ll have that discussion: “Hey, this tooth is looking like it’s breaking down a little bit. It’s okay for now, let’s keep an eye on it. You don’t need a crown yet.”
There are other times where we say, “This tooth needs a crown. Let’s get you scheduled.” If you need to go on vacation next week or have big plans, pushing it off a little bit generally isn’t a problem. The most important thing is having a good dialogue and conversation about the timeline and how long you can safely wait to put a crown on that tooth for protection.
Call Dr. Brett Langston About Your Dental Crown Today
I’m Dr. Brett Langston, prosthodontist and owner of Dental Implant and Aesthetic Specialists here in Brookhaven, Georgia, and I’m here to help you watch your mouth.
Spanish 
English