Crown vs. filling



My first upper right molar is starting to get sensitive to heat. The
tooth already has a giant old amalgam filling (the tooth is mostly
filling) that looks to me like it's separated, that is, there's like a
grove between the tooth and the filling on one surface. The dentist
found no "nerve involvement" on the x-rays and I felt no pain when he
scratched along the edges of the filling with one of his instruments.
So they are proposing to redo the filling either with amalgam (covered
by insurance) or temperature-resistant (my words) composite (not
covered, a couple hundred) or do a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown
(several hundred), with the option to do a root canal if necessary.
I understand that giving patients options is important because of cost
concerns. But I'm wondering though if there is a scientific reason to
prefer one of these treatments over the others. I was disappointed to
to read that crowns only last several years, that they can be
improperly fitted/placed, that they fall off, etc. If I were to go with
a filling, could the dentist during the process find something that
would make a crown necessary?
In general, which of these treatments works best, on average? I'm 34
and got braces recently.
I'm just looking for some ideas to make an educated decision, granted
that there's only so much info I can provide.
Thanks

.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Should the good filling be taken out...
    ... Cracked tooth only hurts when you spread the fractured peice away from the ... >> If pain goes away, ... >> Take out old filling and inspect for cracks. ... moving on to a crown is my next step. ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: [OT] Question about dental crowns
    ... sensitivity - from liquids seeping inside the tooth. ... tooth around the edges, and if she were just to replace the filling, ... So far I've been lucky, and there was still enough tooth left to provide a base for a crown, but once a tooth breaks off, that is not always the case. ... The only "unnecessary" work I've heard of dentists promoting are the ones who insist upon replacing all one's old-fashioned alloy "silver" fillings with more modern materials. ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
  • Re: root canal.crown question
    ... other kind of posts and core material next crown It depends ... > My tooth filling fell off that was done several years ago. ... > Asked me if i am uncomfortable with that tooth with missing filling. ... I felt cold sensation and told him so. ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Did I get a sloppy crown prep?
    ... > half-dozen fillings and an old crown on a lower molar. ... > The broken tooth had a big filling for about 30 years. ... selecting the second dentist be any different, or any better, than ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Cracked tooth?
    ... to the parafucntional stresses placed on the cusps of the tooth. ... Once you understand what parafunction does to teeth, ... The crack was already there before the filling was done. ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)