What's the difference between a crown & post and a dental implant?!
Question: A post and crown restores a tooth. An implant replaces a missing tooth. A post is used when a tooth is very broken down, sometimes there is only a small part of the tooth that is left above the level of the gum line. If the tooth is still restorable then the dentist will bond or cement a post (think of it as a tiny toothpick made out of metal or plastic) down into the root of the tooth. The tooth will need a root canal if it does not have one. About half of the post will be sticking up out of the tooth so the dentist can bond a core to it (or build up the tooth so it looks like a stump). Then it can be shaped/prepared for a crown. An implant is like a "screw" that an oral surgeon surgically places in the bone to replace a tooth that has been extracted. After the bone heals around the implant the dentist will place an abutment (something for a crown to be cemented to) and takes an impression and from that a crown will be made to fit onto the abutment. Basically the difference is that a post is used on a tooth that needs to be restored, and an implant is used to replace an extracted tooth. They both will need a crown.
Answers: A post and crown restores a tooth. An implant replaces a missing tooth. A post is used when a tooth is very broken down, sometimes there is only a small part of the tooth that is left above the level of the gum line. If the tooth is still restorable then the dentist will bond or cement a post (think of it as a tiny toothpick made out of metal or plastic) down into the root of the tooth. The tooth will need a root canal if it does not have one. About half of the post will be sticking up out of the tooth so the dentist can bond a core to it (or build up the tooth so it looks like a stump). Then it can be shaped/prepared for a crown. An implant is like a "screw" that an oral surgeon surgically places in the bone to replace a tooth that has been extracted. After the bone heals around the implant the dentist will place an abutment (something for a crown to be cemented to) and takes an impression and from that a crown will be made to fit onto the abutment. Basically the difference is that a post is used on a tooth that needs to be restored, and an implant is used to replace an extracted tooth. They both will need a crown.
a crown is on the outside of the tooth( the part you see) and a post is on the inside, its what they attach the crown to to build up the tooth..hope this helps x
Crown & Post are not permanent .. they have a shelf life and it's usually 10 years .. a dental implant lasts longer and is way more expensive and painful .. I have both and while the implant is great .. the pain was awful and not something I'm willing to do again.
The other thing is that a crown and post are not implanted into your jaw like an implant.