3 Questions You Need To Ask Your Dentist About Ceramic Dental Crowns
Have you recently learned that you have a severe cavity or some other type of damage to one of your teeth? Is your dentist telling you that you need to have a crown put in but you're not sure if you want to go with this treatment option? Crowns are an extremely effective part of many dental treatment plans, but they are also sometimes misunderstood by the people who need them most. In order to be as informed as possible about your choice, you should make up a list of questions to ask your dentist at your next appointment. Some of the things that you might want to know include:
Are ceramic dental crowns covered by insurance? Each insurance plan is different, and whether or not your crown will be covered can make a big impact on whether or not you ultimately decide to go through with it. Some insurance plans may consider ceramic crowns to be purely cosmetic and may not cover the additional cost, but they will cover the cost of a metal crown. Even if the cost of the crown isn't fully covered, your dentist may be able to get the out-of-pocket cost down by, for instance, billing the crown itself separately from the other dental work that is necessary to place the crown.
What kind of pain control options are available? One of the reasons why people shy away from getting crowns is because they are often accompanied by root canals, and root canals themselves have a bad reputation. Although you may need a root canal for the installation of any ceramic dental crowns, this shouldn't be a painful procedure. There are many more pain relief options than there were decades ago, when root canals gained their bad reputation, so you should be able to have a root canal performed with very minimal pain involved.
What sort of care is required for crowns? In general, ceramic dental crowns are maintained exactly like your normal teeth. Although you may have heard of crowns cracking after someone ate an almond or another similarly hard food, this is relatively rare and is something that can happen to perfectly healthy natural teeth as well. As long as you brush, floss, and go in to see your dentist for regular checkups, a good ceramic crown can last for many years and perhaps even decades. Newer cement or adhesive formulas also help to ensure that the crown stays fixed to your tooth and isn't going to simply break off. Your dentist should be able to provide you with more specific care information, especially for the first few days after your new crown is placed.
For more information, contact a local clinic like Thornley Dental.
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