An Implant or A Crown?

If you miss a tooth, you will start to look for the fastest and most reliable solution. While searching, you may ask friends, relatives, and even check online reviews.

After all of this, you will become more confused between implants and crowns and ask yourself, “Should I get a crown or an Implant?”

Here, we will help you to choose well by learning more about different choices, with sufficient information about both implants and crowns, and which is suitable for your needs. 

See all the tooth replacement options you can choose from.

When Do You Need a Crown?

Generally, a dental crown is usually recommended when the remaining tooth structure can be used as a base for a crown. It can be an ideal option in some cases, like: 

1. After root canal treatment
   As an endodontically treated tooth loses its vitality and becomes more brittle ”easily to fracture”. A crown protects and reinforces the tooth.
2. Strengthen a weak tooth
   If the tooth has cracks, over-filling, severe decay, or loses a lot of its healthy structure. A crown covers the remaining tooth structure to become stronger and withstand biting force.
3. Improving the smile
   In case of misalignment or tooth shape defects, dental crowns can enhance appearance and overall aesthetics.
4. Part of a prosthesis, like 

• Dental bridges; crowns are covering the neighboring teeth, to support and hold the bridge in its place. 
• Dental implants; by covering the implant abutment, restoring both the aesthetic and the function of the tooth. 

When Do You Need an Implant? 

A dental crown is the first option to preserve the tooth as long as possible. However, in some cases, the tooth becomes non-restorable and must be extracted and replaced totally with implants.

Here are the main situations when you need an Implant: 

1. The tooth is too damaged to be saved. There are different scenarios when saving a tooth is impossible: 
   • Root decay: When tooth caries extend deep into the root, it is difficult to treat.
     In this case, totally replacing the affected tooth with a dental implant is the best long-term solution.
   • Crown & root fracture due to trauma, or sudden, excessive forces like biting on pins, opening canes with teeth, or chewing hard objects.    
   • Multiple retreatment failures ended up with teeth extraction.
   • Persistent abscesses or cysts led to teeth extraction. 
2. Missing one or multiple teeth
   An implant is an ideal choice for teeth replacement, as it can replace a tooth with an implant independently with preserve neighbouring teeth and maintaining better long-term health of teeth. 
3. Good overall oral health
   Good oral health conditions with good, healthy bone and surrounding gingiva are a great candidate for dental implant Placement. This condition is necessary for bone healing and better osseointegration (fusion) of implants with the surrounding bone tissue.
4. When Other treatment options are not suitable:
   It’s ideal to go for dental implants when other options are not suitable due to your health condition or needs, like gingival recession or severe gingivitis, where a simple dental crown won’t be effective, and the best treatment option is to extract the tooth, re-establish the healthy tissue with dental implants, and bone graft and membrane, then remove diseased periodontal tissue with gum graft surgery.

What About a Dental Bridge?

A dental bridge is a fixed prosthesis that is commonly used to fill the gap between teeth by replacing one missing tooth or multiple teeth in the same row.

It consists of 2 main components, regardless of the number of units of the bridge.

• Abutment Crowns: An abutment is mainly used to support a bridge; these are the crowns covering the natural teeth or dental implants next to the gap on both sides of the gap. 
• Pontic crowns: a pontic represents the artificial teeth that replace the missing teeth and fill the gap.

Even though it requires preparation of the neighboring teeth, a dental bridge is still considered a simple and conservative option. 

On top of that, it comes with several advantages, like: 

• A non-surgical solution, which is one of the main alternatives to dental implants; there is no need for bone grafting or any surgical procedure, which makes it suitable for patients with complicated health conditions who can’t undergo surgery.
• Restore function (chewing ability and speech) and aesthetics (well alignment of teeth) 
• It can be covered by insurance, unlike an implant, which is rarely covered 
• When neighboring teeth need to be capped with a dental crown, a dental bridge helps keep them in their place and prevents them from drifting. A win-win situation.

Crown vs. Implant vs. Bridge 

	Crown	Implant	Bridge
Cost	Single crown average cost is $650	The most expensive treatment. A single implant with a crown costs an average of 1200-1800USD.	More expensive than a crown, according to the number of units in a single bridge
Longevity	last up to 10 years with optimal oral hygiene and regular dental visits.	Lasts longer than a crown. It is a lifetime treatment that can last for decades, for over 15 years.	It lasts for 10 to 15 years, and can last longer with excellent oral health care.
Strength	Depends on the strength and resistance of the manufacturing material.	It offers maximum stability and strength more than a dental crown or bridge.Perfect endurance to biting forces because of fusion to jawbones (osseointegration)	Same as the crown’s strength, depending on the manufacturing materials, besides the state of the bridge-supported teeth or implants.
Material	Metal crowns, PFM crown, Pressed ceramic crownAll ceramic or all porcelainSame-day crown (CEREC crowns) Resin crown	There are 2 types of implants: Titanium implant Zirconia implant	PFM Zirconia, Layered Zirconia, or All ceramic

How to Choose Between Implants and Crowns? 

To choose from these options, first, you should consult a trusted clinic with experienced dentists such as Suave Dental Clinics. Then, you get a detailed diagnosis using advanced technology like CBCT to evaluate your oral health condition, your bone density, and listen carefully to your needs to understand your needs carefully and choose the best option for your case specifically. This is based on several factors, like:

1. Tooth condition:
   • If the tooth root is healthy enough to be preserved and only needs to cover and protect the damaged and decayed part of the tooth, then a dental crown is the ideal choice.
   • When a whole tooth is badly destroyed and can’t be restored anymore, the adjacent teeth are healthy and sound, and you need to replace the tooth completely (both crown and root), a dental implant with a crown is the best dental treatment for this case.
   • If a badly decayed tooth is extracted, and its adjacent teeth need to be capped or restored, then a dental bridge that replaces the gap and covers the decayed teeth will be a reliable choice. 
2. Bone quality 
   • Crowns: mainly need healthy teeth; bone quality matters indirectly, since a healthy tooth usually indicates healthy surrounding structures also.
   • Dental implant: requires quite good bone density before getting it, as implant success depends on the osseointegration with healthy bone; this may require bone graft and membrane beside the dental implant surgery. 

3. Oral health conditions
   Both of them need controlled, healthy teeth and gums, as implants need excellent oral health to avoid any peri-implantitis (inflammation around any part of the implant).

4. Aesthetic concern
   Both of them can restore the aesthetic and teeth’s well-alignment by replacing missing teeth. But in severe, complicated, aesthetic cases, dental implants offer the closest appearance to the natural tooth, as they can mimic it almost perfectly more than dental bridges.
5. Overall medical condition 
   • According to dental crowns and bridges, medical conditions are usually not a significant issue. As the crown is conservative, treatment is done in 1 or 2 visits only. It doesn’t require any oral surgery to be placed; it only requires preparation of the affected tooth. 
   • Since dental implants include a surgical procedure, your general medical condition is important to be considered. Stable health conditions are preferable here, as implants require oral surgery to place the titanium post in the jaw.

6. Cost
   When cost does matter, a dental implant is generally more expensive than a crown, but it offers more long-lasting results. However, there are affordable dental implant treatments available in Turkey.

Affordable Dental Packages with Suave Clinic

If you choose dental crowns, dental bridges, or go for dental implants. You will find all dental treatment options at affordable prices. At Suave dental clinic, they offer variable packages, all of which include essential services such as:

• Consultation & Physical Examination
• Panoramic X-ray
• Local Anesthesia
• Free teeth extraction 
• Private Patient Assistant
• All VIP Transfers (Airport – Hotel – Clinic)

The difference between packages depends on the number of implants or crowns and the materials used, and the number of teeth will be restored. 

In the end, the ideal treatment differs from one to another. Be sure that at Suave Dental Clinic, we will recommend the most suitable option for your smile, whether it’s a crown, a bridge, or a dental implant.

FAQs

An Implant or A Crown FAQs

Can a Tooth Rot Under a Crown?

Yes, this can happen through the margin, which is the line where the crown meets the natural tooth. Improper fitting of the crown causes accumulation and escape of plaque and bacteria through small gaps. Over time, with neglected oral hygiene, tooth decay occurs under the crown.

Why do dentists push for crowns after root canals?

To protect the weak remaining tooth structure and the pulp therapy from any further fracture or decay, a dental crown, in this case, plays an important role in withstanding chewing forces and covering the tooth for better tooth function.