crowns on teeth

[tuna]

hi i am three crowns fittted on my front teeth as the others have shrunk away from the gums and hav big gaps in them, one dentist has told me they will be 200pound each yet another has told me they will be 400pound each so i am totally confused! as the ones i hav in were nhs but they hav lasted about 9 yrs wich seems good to me, arnt they all made of the same stuff? thanks tuna

[jno]

maybe - ask your dentist, as different materials are available. Presumably won't be gold for front teeth. I've got some Cerec ones, which are supposed to be good (I haven't had them long enough to say) and long-lasting, take only one session to make and install, but cost more.

[CrazyDaisy80]

As far as I understand, NHS are only allowed to use certain Products for whatever they do, for example, they would use Amalgam Fillings, not White as they are Cheaper. I would have thought this is why your Crowns are Cheaper with the NHS Dentist.
NHS Dentist can only Charge certain Amounts for what they do whereas Private can pretty much Charge what they want.
I would do as jno says and clarify this with your Dentist.

[saxy_jag]

I'm about to have one of my fourteen crowns replaced (don't ask - it's a sore point), so have just had the rundown on NHS dental charges.

Basically, you now pay one of three charges: �15.50, �42.40 and �189.00. Crowns, bridges and dentures come in the upper band. The cost is per course of treatment rather than per tooth, so if you have two crowns done in one go, then you'll only pay �189. Have them done in two seperate courses of treatment and you'll pay that charge twice.

The good news is that �189 is the maximum you'll pay for any one course of treatment. There's more information here:

http://www.nhs.uk/England/Dentists/DentalCharg es.cmsx

If you have private treatment, the dentist can charge what he or she likes.

Nine years isn't the longest time for a crown. I've had some of mine for nearly thirty. My dentist tells me that fifteen to twenty is about average - depends on the material they're made from. Again, more info here:

http://www.dentalhealth.org.uk/faqs/leafletdet ail.php?LeafletID=7

[jno]

wow... geographic tongue! Interesting site, saxy_jag