Dental Crown Or Filling: What’s the Difference?

Let’s start from the beginning! How do you find out if you have any cavities or tooth decay in the first place? Having two dental checkups per year is a great way to ensure that your teeth are being taken care of. While brushing and flossing daily are great practices, getting cleanings and checkups regularly are highly recommended to prevent and treat cavities! But let’s just say that you haven’t visited your dentist in a while, or you notice a toothache. It’s time to schedule an appointment for a checkup.

Checkups are great for many reasons, but one key component is checking for cavities. Seeing a dentist for a checkup is crucial to your dental hygiene. By seeing a dentist, you can find out if there is potential for cavities, or cavities that have already formed. 

What Next?

Once your dentist has discovered any cavities or tooth decay, it is time to assess and treat the problem. Depending on the severity of tooth decay, your dentist will likely recommend either a tooth filling or crown. Fillings for cavities often point to minimal damage, while a dental crown might mean something more severe. 

Tooth Filling

Cavities are tiny holes that damage the surface of your teeth, usually due to plaque build-up. When the damage is minimal, a dentist can typically use a filling to repair the tooth with little damage to the tooth itself. There is no need for any impressions of your teeth in this case because the damaged part of the tooth is removed. Dentists use drills to rid your teeth of these cavities without harming the enamel, and then they use a filling to fix your tooth while keeping your smile looking natural!

Dental Crown

When cavities are more pronounced, meaning there is more severe tooth decay, your dentist might opt for a dental crown. Crowns require tooth impressions to be made so that they can put the crown over the existing damaged teeth. A crown provides stability for broken or weak teeth. When it comes to crowns, dentists do need to remove some of the tooth enamel in order to make the crown fit over the top, but these generally last longer than fillings do. 

Preventative Dental Care

As previously mentioned, brushing twice daily and flossing regularly are great ways to prevent cavities from forming. Another important part of your regular dental care is scheduling cleanings and checkups to avoid having to get crowns or fillings in the first place. Dental hygiene is a part of overall hygiene, as well as health and wellness. A mouth full of plaque and dirty teeth can lead to bigger health problems such as diabetes and even heart disease. Working to eliminate some of the bacteria in your mouth can help you keep your overall health. 

And, finally, is a toothache a cause for an emergency dentist visit? The answer is: it can be. Emergency dentist appointments are important if the pain is persisting for more than one to two days. If you or someone you know is suffering from tooth pain, call Apple Tree Dental to schedule an emergency dentist visit. A member from our team will be more than happy to assist you, and expedite the process of getting you back to feeling good!

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