Re: Can a crown be filled after being drilled?

HappyDutch <mwories@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> My wife had recently a root canal done. It required a crown to be
> drilled and it was mentioned filling the crown was possible, unless it
> was damaged. The root canal was done by the specialist. Our dentist
> wants to put a new crown on; without having seen the result of the root
> canal. We discussed it but filling was not seen as an option to our
> surprise.
>
> Can a crown be filled? Should we switch to another dentist, or is he
> right? We felled a little pushed by the dentist, but maybe he's right,
> so don't want to rush into judgement here.
>
> Thanks!

It us _usually_ true that re-filling a crown is the lesser option in
terms of longevity. I'd definately want to put at least one fiber post
into one of the canals for added stability. I know this is
controversial, but that's me. Next, you have to realize that this is
somewhat like drilling a hole in a pop bottle cap- and then trying to
reseal the hole. It can be done, but it is not nearly as solid. You have
invested in a root canal treatment. If you want to take the chance that
the crown-filling may fail, and irreparably damaging the tooth, fine. If
the tooth is a molar, I would really hesitate to do this, as those teeth
take a lot of force.

The thing is; every case should be looked at individually. There is no
way to know how big the access cavity was made into the crown, and
therefore no way to evaluate the stability of the remaining structure.
There are some dentists who will try to do this and some who will not.
It is important to realize, however, that such a treatment would never
be warrantied; if I did it, at the request of my patient, and it fell
out or the tooth cracked or broke, I would not re-do it for free. To
underline this attitude, I would have the patient sign the dossier to
that effect. This keeps the both sides honest.

The important thing to realize is that it is a patch up job, and that is
inherently less stable and strong than the replacement crown.

So, to sum up: can it be done? Definitly perhaps maybe.

I wish I could be more categoric, but I cannot. The best would be to get
a second opinion.
Cheers
SP
--
Finally: take out the TRASHH
.

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