Crown vs. post crown
I have been having a problem with a dental office I recently began visiting. Two dentists are at the site (one is retiring) and one recommends one thing, then when I sit in the chair to get the work done the other dentist comes in and recommends something completely different. I am going to switch to another dentist.. however I am now in the position of having to pay for work that they have already started... Now for my question.
I have a lot of decay due to medications. Apparently I had a lot of decay in tooth #10 (next to front tooth on the left). The dental hygenist "demonstrated" this decay by poking a hole in the tooth, then when I was flossing the floss got caught in the tooth and it broke in half. I went back in and the retiring dentist said that the tooth would be fixed by putting a post and a crown on, as well as doing a root canal (I had already been scheduled to have a root canal due to the decay).
So I sit down in the chair to have the work began and the "other" dentist comes in and begins work on the tooth. After it was numbed and he drilled for a while he stopped and told me that because the tooth was so decayed there might not be enough to support a crown and post and that instead of putting the money into that, when it may eventually fall out, I may want to have the tooth extracted and wear a temporary one called a "flipper". The other option was to have a "bridge" put in which would involve drilling down the other 2 surrounding teeth. I wanted to stay away from extracting a front tooth so I told him I really would prefer to try the root canal. He also told me I had to decide that day because he would not be able to do a root canal if I did not decide that day (I do not understand this either). Anyway, I decided I want to risk the root canal, even if it does not last, if I can avoid extracting the tooth.
However, once I got home and looked at the paperwork, it appears that he has decided to do a "core build up" and porcelain crown... he is not putting in the post.
My question (sorry for the above rambling but felt like it necessary) is... IF THERE IS ALREADY A RISK THAT THERE IS NOT A LOT OF TOOTH TO HOLD THE CROWN IN, WOULDN'T IT MAKE MORE SENSE FOR BOTH A POST AND CROWN TO BE PUT IN?? While I am not wild about having a post put in my mouth it does sound like it would be more stable. Any info re. crown vs. post crown would be appreciated. Thanks!
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