I think one of the fun things to do in dental school is making a gold crown. I’ll tell you why - as a student you have the control! After the prep and impression are taken you can decide when to pour up the models, mount them, wax the tooth and cast it. There are some steps in between to get signed off by faculty, but ultimately the control is in the students hands. There is no lab slip, no lab time, and no chance for a potential mess up by the lab. I have recently been working on a gold crown for #18. Everything has gone very smooth and I am pleased with the outcome. When a gold crown is treatment planned you will want to take the following steps (this is mostly for Temple Dental students).
1. The patient has to pay AT LEAST half of the cost of the crown. At Temple we charge $350.00 which is a steal! If the patient can pay in full then get them to pay up front, it makes life easier.
2. After they paid, go and get an approval form and fill it out. Take the approval form to a clinical coordinator so they can stamp it. After it is stamped, go through the checklist on the form and make sure you have everything done in the chart. You have to make sure the recall is done, signatures are up to date, etc.
3. Put the form in the chart and submit it to the AEGD window for approval. This takes 24 hours. After this time period the chart can be found back in central records. Go pick the chart up and see if your plan is approved.
4. If you are approved you can get your patient in and start treatment. If not, fix what you are missing and resubmit your form.
Here is the crown I have been working on for the last few weeks (total of 3 appointments for a parapost and composite buildup and prep and impression). I plan to cement it within the next week.
Othe reasons to like gold crowns:
Typically there are less appointments because there is not a coping try-in step before porcelain. The margins always come out better (at least for me). Gold is simply awesome to look at.
Hope you enjoy the case!
P.S. I tried to get the bridge, but the patient just wanted to get the crown done. FYI!
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3 responses so far ↓
1 G/pa Reed // Jun 12, 2009 at 11:59 am
Beautiful work, Dr. Johnson, in my opinion. I would be proud to wear one of your crowns. Good photography-pleasing to view. Thanks for sharing with us. Blessings, G/pa & G/ma R.
2 Ben // Jun 14, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Thanks g/pa!
I also wanted to add that the tooth was already in crossbite to begin with. I didn’t wax it into crossbite.
3 Susan // Mar 21, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Hello, Doc.
I have a first appointment at Kornberg later this week. I already know they’ll want me to have 6-8 new crowns — I’ve needed them for years, but I’ve never been able to afford them. Having moved to Lancaster County last summer, I thought this might be my chance to get them done right and affordably.
My questions. Are gold crowns the only options there? How much would porcelain crowns be? (I called, but they say it is policy not to tell us how much they charge for procedures until I’m actually sitting in their chair. It’s a three hour trip for me, so I would like to know *before* I bother if I can afford the whole treatment plan. Stupid policy, but the lady I spoke to just “does as [she's] told.”) Is there a payment plan for as many crowns as I need? I have *NO* insurance, so this is my best hope, though it may not be much. Are the dentists there good at working with my limitations? I live three hours away, and I’d have to take a whole day off work for an appointment, so I’d like to take as few trips as possible. Will they work with me?
As my appointment is on Wednesday, I’m hoping you can reply to this soonest. Thank you.
Susan
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