Getting a tooth crown - is this normal procedure?

I’ve never had a crown before so I don’t know what to expect.

I’ve been back to the dentist once a week for 4 weeks now (actually there was a two week break between my last appointment). I was told there were another 2 sessions to go.

The hole they’re digging into my tooth is pretty deep - right into the route, so I expect it to be long and painful. But 6 sessions seems like a lot to me.

I just got back from my 3:30 appointment and told them I’ll be going back on the 19th of June. So the dentist told me he’d give me the materials and I could take it back to Australia and get it done there.

Hao bu bao?

I gave a long silence and turned my head to the side and smiled meaning “bu hao”, and they worked out a schedule where to fit me in. I thought it wouldn’t be too hard - only 2 more sessions, right? But then they said they said a whole bunch of stuff which I didn’t quite comprehend. I think they said I actually have 4 more sessions and they have to do some scheduling to get it all done before I go back.

Anyway, after that 3:00 appointment, I’m going back for another appointment today at 5:15.

Is this all normal? They’re not really explaining stuff properly because I think they think I won’t understand. Which is fair enough, I mess up a lot in Chinese, but I can still understand what’s going on.

This isn’t someone freaking out - this is someone going to a dentist and not knowing what the hell is going on just getting drilled into and xrayed once a week. It would be kind of fun to know exactly what’s going on. Any thoughts?

Yours may be a different situation from mine, but I had a crown done last year. Two visits. First visit cleaned up the basic problem and got me antibiotics and x-rays. Also filed down the tooth to where it was ready for the crown. Second visit got me the crown. I had no medical coverage and the total cost was somewhere in the 4,000 to 5,000 range. No problems with the tooth since then. Maybe you should consider getting someone to go with you to the next appointment to translate the entire procedure so that you know exactly what is happening and why? It seems odd to me that he would offer to give you the materials etc. to get the job finished elsewhere unless what he is doing is something quite different, in which case you would have to find someone who knew what this procedure is and how it’s done.

I concur. A friend of mine had a bridge crown done (crown two teeth-the one in the middle is missing-to fill in a missing tooth) and he also only had two visits. All in all it cost him NT$9000 (NT$3000 per tooth). So as totallytika says, maybe you have an additional problem.

A crown I had done in the UK took only 2 sessions.

Multiple inlays I had done here took three longish sessions.

6 sessions for one crown does seem rather many.

If he’s doing a root canal then the 6-sessions is about right.

Be careful flying with that, especially unfinished. Make sure he leaves it open, or the change in cabin pressure will leave you screaming.

During my diving courses, we read a fair bit about “tooth squeeze” usually the result of poor dental work. A sloppy root canal would be a perfect example. I never believed it until I saw it first hand in Thailand…We had to rip the crown right off. The diver in question was in serious, serious pain.

Make sure he knows you are going to fly soon. Either finish the job completely, or leave it open until you get home.

Thanks for your replies everyone.

I am getting a root canal, so it seems to be normal then.

I’m really really glad you told me about that MJB. I had a chat with the nice nurse in the dentist office yesterday and found out what each session is for and let her know of the dates when I’m flying back etc. so they seem to be looking after it ok and getting it finished up as soon as possible.

The dentist that I’m seeing is the on-campus dentist at my university, so I’m not really sure about his skill level at doing root canals. It’s going to fun to see what happens when I’m on the plane.

I think I’ll take a pair of plyers in my hand luggage just in case.

Last time I pulled out one of my own teeth I had to use the tail of a plastic dinosaur.

[quote=“MJB”]If he’s doing a root canal then the 6-sessions is about right.
[/quote]

I got a root canal done here about 4yrs back in only 2 sessions so I guess it depends a lot on the severity, at the end of the 2nd session they capped it (?) or maybe stuck a filling in it so I could later get a crown, but never did :unamused:

Are you guys in trouble. My wife used to work for my dentist some years ago.
So for me it

I had a ton of dental work done in Taipei at various swanky-looking dental offices, including crowns. However, over time, it all went bad. That is to say that the tooth continued to rot under fillings and even the crown I had done was a monstrosity; the top of it is too square and bothers the gums. I have had to have it all redone in Canada and Japan. Therefore, I recommend that you go home for this stuff if you can. Also, for those who have already had work done in Taiwan, get it re-checked back home.

You don’t need to get it done back home. Simply go to a dentist recommended by others, preferably locals. I’ve had a lot of work done here and it’s never gone bad.

If you have root canal, you’ll need to go back as many times as it takes. A good dentist will clean it out as much as possible. If it 's still hurting, the bugger aint clean. I’ve had root canal many times and it always takes 3 or 4 visits before it’s done, and that’s at any dentist.

My crown took three or four visits. They prepared the tooth into the post, took an impression of my biting action, then on the third visit I got the new crown but on fitting, it wasn’t perfect so it got taken out and altered and fourth visit finally fitted.

This was last year and no probs yet. Cost a fair whack for a higher quality material but should last longer.

I’ve been to four dentists, approx 20 times each to sort out my British teeth, even had a camera shoved in their the first time for a before and after montage.

Actually, one year is not long enough to tell with this sort of thing. Sorry to be the nay-sayer on this.

And in the West, a root canal should not take more than 2 visits. First they clean it out and put in a solvent, seal it up, then you return 1-2 weeks later and have it cleaned again and sealed up.