Three months ago I had a front crown replacement. This is the 6th replacement since a tobaggan accident I was in, in 1966. Yesterday I had a sneezing episode where I sneezed five times in a row and the crown popped out. Today I went in to my dentist and he said I need to pay for another new crown. I asked him since the one that popped out was only three months old, wasn't there some sort of guarantee? He said no, he could never guarantee a crown for me, because, in his words, "there isn't enough of the original tooth to make a solid anchoring". I asked him when did he know this? He said he knew that when I had first come to see him 6 years ago. I then asked him why didn't he tell me, instead of putting in a crown then, a replacement crown 2 years ago, and now this future one. He then said I really needed a bridge put in the front of my mouth, to the tune of $5000.00 plus incidentals (he would have to take out what was already in my gums).

My question - does this sound logical? Thank you for reading and taking time to reply.

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Originally Posted by shygrneyzs

Three months ago I had a front crown replacement. This is the 6th replacement since a tobaggan accident I was in, in 1966. Yesterday I had a sneezing episode where I sneezed five times in a row and the crown popped out. Today I went in to my dentist and he said I need to pay for another new crown. I asked him since the one that popped out was only three months old, wasn't there some sort of guarantee? He said no, he could never guarantee a crown for me, because, in his words, "there isn't enough of the original tooth to make a solid anchoring". I asked him when did he know this? He said he knew that when I had first come to see him 6 years ago. I then asked him why didn't he tell me, instead of putting in a crown then, a replacement crown 2 years ago, and now this future one. He then said I really needed a bridge put in the front of my mouth, to the tune of $5000.00 plus incidentals (he would have to take out what was already in my gums).

My question - does this sound logical? Thank you for reading and taking time to reply.

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I would definitely get another opinion. Possibly an implant would work better for you. $5000 for a bridge seems out of line also.

Well, you are in a bit of a bind, aren't you? Going on what you have said, you are within your rights to be a little upset. In our line of work, if you suspect a particular course of treatment is not ideal, you suggest another. 3 months is not an acceptable life span of a crown and it is remiss of your dentist to replace it knowing it will fail. A bridge is a good option, if the teeth on either side would benefit from crowning. If they are virgin, or with only minimal restorations, then I would consider an implant, which only replaces the lost tooth, without having to encroach on the teeth either side. Sounds like someone should have had this conversation with you years ago...