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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / October 2007Can a crown be converted to an implant?
I'm guessing no, but I had to ask anyway. The scenario is this: you spend $1200 for a crown on a RCT-ed tooth, then a year down the road, the tooth becomes painful and unsalvageable and you decide to get an implant. It would be nice if the existing crown could be converted to an implant at less cost than if you didn't have a crown to start from. Is this possible? > I'm guessing no, but I had to ask anyway. The scenario is this: you > spend $1200 for a crown on a RCT-ed tooth, then a year down the road, > the tooth becomes painful and unsalvageable and you decide to get an > implant. It would be nice if the existing crown could be converted to > an implant at less cost than if you didn't have a crown to start > from. Is this possible? No. The crown is custom-made to fit the implant abutment, just as your crown was custom-made to fit your natural prepared tooth. Sorry, Steve On Oct 12, 5:47 pm, Steven Bornfeld <dentaltwinm...@earthlink.net> wrote: > > I'm guessing no, but I had to ask anyway. The scenario is this: you > > spend $1200 for a crown on a RCT-ed tooth, then a year down the road, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > No. The crown is custom-made to fit the implant abutment, just as your > crown was custom-made to fit your natural prepared tooth. Why wouldn't it be possible to just remove the crown - assuming it is possible to remove it intact - and shape the implant abutment to fit it, just as the tooth was shaped to accomodate a crown in the first place? > On Oct 12, 5:47 pm, Steven Bornfeld <dentaltwinm...@earthlink.net> > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > it, just as the tooth was shaped to accomodate a crown in the first > place? Interesting question. It would have to fit not only the internal surface of the crown, but also be compatible with the bite. It is possible it could be waxed up using an index of the bite. The other problem is that I'm not sure alloys used for custom abutments can be cast to fit well enough. Another problem is that the crown is made to fit the contours of the root. That contour at the gumline may not be optimal for an implant abutment coming off a fixture. But it's an interesting concept--one a lab tech would be more well-equipped to answer, perhaps. I've never heard of it being done. Steve The extra labor costs to fit a custom abutment under an existing crown like that would cost more than making a new crown from scratch.  Signature/ Amatus / >> On Oct 12, 5:47 pm, Steven Bornfeld <dentaltwinm...@earthlink.net> >> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Steve > The extra labor costs to fit a custom abutment under an existing crown like > that would cost more than making a new crown from scratch. A new crown in my neck of the woods will cost about $1200. Shaping the implant abutment would cost more than that? And don't get me started on the outrageous cost of a single tooth implant: $3000 - $4000 where I am, which I sure hope includes the crown! John. Odds are it will not fit the first time and need to be re-done 1-2 times. Factoring in the office time,,,,,,, I doubt it would be practical (considering the $1200 cost of a new crown). Plus, the difficulty of trying to get your surgeon to graft the tissues (which might not otherwise need grafting) to match the contour of your existing crown is huge. Also, the centerline of the implant may not coincide with the centerline of the crown. At best, you would pay these extra fees to end up with a crown which does not fit the contours of the gum tissues around the implant, has a visible band of metal exposed near the gum-line and traps food between your teeth when you eat. What you are asking for is similar to trying to fit the driver's door from a Saab 93 to the left side of a Honda Accord (do they still make those?). You would have to do a LOT of work to get it in place, and then end up with contours which don't match. [I know this is not a great comparison for a variety of reasons, but the sensibility of the job is about the same.] Signature/ Amatus / >> The extra labor costs to fit a custom abutment under an existing crown >> like [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > John. > Odds are it will not fit the first time and need to be re-done 1-2 times. > Factoring in the office time,,,,,,, I doubt it would be practical [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > contours which don't match. [I know this is not a great comparison for a > variety of reasons, but the sensibility of the job is about the same.] Ok, thanks. I can now better appreciate the difficulty and impracticality involved! On Oct 13, 5:52 pm, Steven Bornfeld <dentaltwinm...@earthlink.net> wrote: > > On Oct 12, 5:47 pm, Steven Bornfeld <dentaltwinm...@earthlink.net> > > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > But it's an interesting concept--one a lab tech would be more > well-equipped to answer, perhaps. I've never heard of it being done. Ok, thanks. I'll see what my dentist has to say. He'll probably agree that it is not a practical option. John. |
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