Crowns and braces

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#1 Post by **Dimples** » Sun May 27, 2007 10:39 am

I have a large filling in my upper right third molar. It's so large, that it caused my tooth to chip. The dentist said that my tooth is like a shell over the filling. He suggested that I get a crown over this tooth, but wants to see what my ortho says first.

I would like a crown, but i'm not too happy about having to shell out extra money. According to my insurance, my co payment for crowns isn't cheap!!! Now i do see something that is called a recement crown with a $13 co pay, and something else called a recement inlay, also with a $13 co pay. But I don't know what this is, and this may not be the type of crown I need.
So if anyone has crowns with braces, what type is it, and how much did you pay?

Also I have a wisdom tooth that hasn't fully erupted. It also has decay underneath. The dentist also wants to see what the ortho says about this tooth, because he said that the ortho may want to use it, and if that's the case, he'll fix it, if not he pull it. I am going to consult with another dentist this week and see what he says about the wisdom tooth. I think I am going to just go ahead and get it pulled. I don't have much time either. I am scheduled to get my braces in 2 weeks.

#2 Post by **Dimples** » Sun May 27, 2007 11:04 am

okay I did a little research, and I see that recement is only tightning up the crown,(duh). Anyway, looks like if I do get a crown, i'll have to shell out a minumum of $82.

#3 Post by **lemonlyme** » Sun May 27, 2007 10:48 pm

Same for me Meryaten. It's going to be like $350 for mine, with insurance covering 50%.

#4 Post by **Nikkiekoala** » Sun May 27, 2007 10:51 pm

$82 dollars for a crown?! WOW that is cheap. You have good insurance. One crown costs me $370 insurance only pays 50% the $370 is what I pay after insurance. I need a bridge that means I need 3 crowns! Insurance wont even pay for an implant so I have to get a bridge. It's cheaper than an implant but still inexcess of $1000 that I have to pay.
It will be awhile before I get a bridge. Still paying off the ortho for my braces.

#5 Post by **beachrose** » Mon May 28, 2007 5:52 am

nikkiekoala, if I were you, I would re-think getting a bridge. You essentially ruin two good teeth to replace one. It is a little bit more expensive to begin with, but I think in the long run, you would be happier and a lot more comfortable with an implant. Just my opinion from personal experience.

#6 Post by **Nikkiekoala** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:31 am

I wont actually be ruining good teeth for the bridge. The teeth on each side of the space already have crowns so not a big deal on that front. I have a mouth full of crowns. I got them when dental insurance use to be good. You know the progressive coverage kind first year they covered 70% second 80% third 90% and following years 100%. Boy I miss that insurance. I had 100% coverage for about 3 years before it all changed.

#7 Post by **Dimples** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:40 am

That's for the basic crown(resin).

If I want precious metal, I have to pay 218. If I get an inlay(porcelain/ceramic) it starts at 95 for 1 surface.
Honestly, I don't want a crown. I would rather get the inlay, or bonding if possible. But the dentist didn't mention bonding or an inlay. He suggested a crown. But it's up to me what I want, so when I go for my braces on the 8th, I am going to let him know that I don't want a crown and if bonding or lnlays are possible. I am going to see another dentist this week and see what he suggests about my wisdom tooth and me getting bonding or an inlay(not a crown) on my molar.

#8 Post by **Dimples** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:42 am

came back to say, couldn't I just wait until after braces to get a crown???

#9 Post by **lemonlyme** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:47 am

My ortho recommended that, so i am, not sure about what your ortho will say for your specific case!

#10 Post by **beachrose** » Mon May 28, 2007 10:37 am

Wow! I never heard of progressive insurance. How wonderful. I had Delta Dental (through work and then for three years as part of a retirement package, which has ended) and it only paid a little over a thousand a year. Before they switched to Delta, we had Med Tac and that paid even less. I live in Massachusetts and dental work is very expensive here. Crowns cost at least nine hundred, if not more, from most dentists in my area. At least if you're not part of the closed dental plan, which I never was. Also, I worked for the State, so maybe private industry has better dental plans.

#11 Post by **Dimples** » Mon May 28, 2007 12:47 pm

my hubby works for the city of chicago, and they have great benefits. For dental, we have comp benefits. They are paying 2100 dollars of my ortho treatment. The total cost was 4500.

I don't want a crown though. I would rather opt for bonding or an inlay.

#12 Post by **Dimples** » Mon May 28, 2007 6:45 pm

I am just going to see if this can wait until after the braces come off. honestly, i'm shelling out enough paper already with getting braces, an i just can't keep pouring out money to the ortho or dentist. The ortho didn't seem worried. He told me that he wants to see what the dentist says, and the dentist told me he wants to see what the ortho says.

I'll ask about an onlay and see what the dentists says. Thanks for the advice! meryeaten

#13 Post by **Miss Smiley** » Mon May 28, 2007 11:19 pm

Wow Dimples, you've got yourself a little situation.

My ortho said that he wasn't comfortable working with a tooth like that so I ended up getting two crowns without any insurance and two retreats on previous root canals. Let me tell you, my wallet is in more pain than my teeth. Well, not that my teeth are really bothering me.

Back to the topic on hand. My ortho said he wasn't comfortable working with teeth that thin because he did not want to cause more damage to the tooth. He would not begin treatment until he saw that they were crowned. Boo hoo for me, it took an extra month and a half or so. BUT now that I think about it, I'm glad he was looking out for the health of my mouth. Who knows how much worse the bill could have been if I had to extract those things and pay another 5,000 dollars in implants not including OS fees for extractions and restorations. Plus healing time for implants is like 3 months or something.

#14 Post by **Dimples** » Tue May 29, 2007 8:05 am

Hi smiley,

The ortho said he was going to see what the dentist had to say, and the dentist said that he was going to see what the ortho had to say.

It's only chipped on one side. But i'm hoping that I can wait until after the braces to get the tooth crowned, or maybe a temp crown, or an onlay.
I just hope it doesn't delay my brace day. I am scheduled to be braced next friday.

#15 Post by **beachrose** » Tue May 29, 2007 8:44 am

I just looked up my dental bills for all the work I've had done over the last year, specifically the charge for my crowns. The four front cost $1200 each, plus $850 for each abutment for the implants and each of the other six cost $1125! My insurance did pick up some of the cost. Although my dentist is quite expensive, this is not really out of line with what dentists in my area charge.

Meryaten - question for you. You say you're not a dental professional but you are so very knowledgeable about all this. It certainly seems as if you've had some training or is it just from doing intensive research because of your own situation. I am curious.