Many dentists use the word “temporary” when referring to the short term crowns we use during treatment. Because of that, the temptation is to call their longer lasting counterparts “permanent crowns”.
But, is that accurate? Is anything that we do for a patient (except an extraction) permanent?
There’s an old story that goes like this. Dr Jones is about to retire after a 40-year career. On his last day, a patient comes in complaining, holding a gold crown in his hand that Dr Jones had made 40 years earlier:
“You told me this crown was permanent!”
Even worse is when we refer to fillings as permanent. That really is setting the patient up for disappointment.
Personally I use the term “treatment crown” when referring to a temporary and “real crown” for the one that comes after that.
