Not A Doubt

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Dental Crowns - How Long Will They Last?

While restorative dentistry has advanced considerably in the past few decades, the fact is that virtually no dental prosthesis - even dental crowns - will last forever. Most dental professionals agree that the average lifespan of a crown is about ten years - and this is considered better than that of many other restorative and cosmetic techniques. Taking a position that is highly unusual for the insurance industry, most companies offering dental coverage and actually cover part or all of the cost of dental crowns allow them to be replaced after only five years.

While this is true in theory - and dentists are reluctant to promise patients more than that - in actuality, dental crowns can last a lifetime, provided they are properly cared for and made from the right materials.

Most of the dentists who work in prosthodontics agree that good oral hygiene is the most important single factor when it comes to the maintenance of any restorative procedure. This is even more important than the original quality of the materials. Dental crowns made from inferior materials, placed by a skilled and experienced prosthodontist and kept clean will easily outlast those made from the best materials, put in place by an inexperienced dentist and allowed to deteriorate.

The longest lasting crowns are those made from gold, which is the strongest in terms of compression. This, and the fact that it is virtually impossible to disguise the appearance of gold, makes this material more suited for use in procedures of the back teeth and molars - which are located out of sight, and bear the brunt of dental pressures.

Porcelain dental crowns are not as durable, despite the fact that ceramic is very strong in terms of compression. This means that porcelain is very difficult to crush, making it very suitable for chewing and biting down on something. However, ceramic has considerably less tensile strength - meaning it can be easily snapped. Porcelain-fused-to-metal are the best; the greater the porcelain-to-metal ratio however, thus more likely that the crown will be subject to failure.

The best thing that a patient can do in order to insure that dental crowns last as long as possible is to adhere religiously to a rigorous program of dental hygiene that includes thorough (but gentle) brushing, flossing and rinsing.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 11:39 am and is filed under Be Beautiful, Universe Of Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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