I had crowns added to my top 10 front teeth 4 years ago and they are chipping. Should my dentist replace them for free?

In general, most dentist do not guarantee crowns for more than a few months, so I would not expect your dentist to cover crowns that are 4 years old.  However, at my office, we guaranty our crowns will not crack, chip or full off for at least 10 years, but we expect our crowns to last 20-30 years.  We require regular check-ups at our office or at any office you choose to go to.  We also evaluate our patients for teeth grinding to make sure that if grinding is an issue, we try to resolve it.   Good luck and I hope this helps. Follow me if you have more questions.Sarah Thompson, DMD

If you bought a new car, would you expect free alignment 4 years later?  If you had angioplasty surgery and it didn't work, you would have another surgery and it would cost 100% of the fee.  Same story 3 years later.  Expectations should have been mapped out before starting, but after 4 years of use, free should not be part of the discussion.  Even Les Schwab has prorated fees for tire usage.

You use your teeth every day, closing them together at least 2000 times per day.  You chew hard things and many people grind or clench their teeth very hard.  Also, accidents happen, like falls or blows to the teeth, which can not only chip natural teeth, but also porcelain crowns as well.Tell me what you've purchased four years ago that had as much service and wear as your teeth, and after wearing or breaking it was replaced for free?  Your car?  Your TV?  Your refrigerator?  Your computer?  Probably not.My guess is that if your crowns would have broken within the first six months there might have been some laboratory error and your dentist might have replaced them for free.However, since this is four years out, I would not expect your dentist to replace your crowns for free.

Dr. Lerch has very good input below.  I would add that there are many factors to consider.  If you are grinding your teeth, then that really needs to be looked at.  That will cause porcelain to chip as well as natural teeth.  Grinding can be caused or exacerbated by stress.  There is also sleep disordered bruxism (grinding).  This can be a sign of more serious condition Sleep Apnea.  Look up signs of Sleep Apnea (or Sleep disordered Breathing) on the Google and see if you may need to look into this further.

Dental crowns often can last for many, many years.  In my office, I like to see 20 years or more.  However dental insurance companies will pay to replace a damaged, chipped, broken, or decayed (from underneath) crown when it has been in the mouth just over five years.  If for some reason a crown come unbonded, or uncemented or chipped within six months after placement, we would replace/recement/redo for free.  Not after four years.  Four years of normal use, of normal wear and tear is a good service. I would not even expect a discount after four years.  Good luck!