Which is better: caps or fillings?

Answer by  Che (425)

Fillings are fine and are consideralby less expensive than caps. However, if a tooth is in really bad shape a filling may not be adequate to fill the cavity. When it is a very large filling it sometimes breaks apart or falls out, and then a cap becomes necessary. Caps also look better than a large filling.

Answer by  Yen (320)

The best restoration long term is a crown. If done correctly with great margins it should last you a long time. Although the crown is much more money that a filling. It is the best restoration you can do for your teeth. Once a tooth has more filling than tooth structure a crown is whats best.

Answer by  Roland27 (16334)

Both. You have to have a filling to get a cap! When your tooth is so bad that anymore decay will cause you to lose the tooth the dentist will cap the tooth in order to prevent it from decaying further. They have to drill and fill the tooth in order to put the cap on.

Answer by  jaimesgirl (1055)

Fillings are usually done if the tooth is in good enough condition to accept a filling. If the tooth is severely deteriorated, however, a filling might not be an option. If the dentist feels the tooth is at all salvagable, he might recommend a cap in order to prevent further decay and avoid pulling the tooth.