Why are dental crowns overrated?

I don't think you've thought this through. You say crowns are worthless but then say I will get it extracted and then get a bridge. Look up what a bridge actually is. It's basically 3 crowns stuck together. They have to take down the teeth on both sides of the "gap" down to "stubs" so the bridge will have something to attach to. You're complaining it's stupid to spend money and grind down one tooth and instead you'll wait for a tooth to break, go through having it extracted, have the teeth on either side "widdled down to a stub" and then pay the equivalent of 3 crowns plus the extraction?? My office charges $825 for a crown. That bridge would be 3 teeth so 3 * $825 plus $125 for the extraction...so about $2600. Doesn't make sense really but it's your money. Crowns are cemented to healthy teeth. Unless he is a scam artist, your dentist should remove all the bad portion of your tooth and rebuild it if he needs to so the crown can seat properly and securely. Bridges leak just like single crowns do so you may to pay that all over again at some point. We just had to replace a bridge on my dad but he had his for 40+ years. It all depends on the quality of the work and how you take care of your teeth after it's done. Just like everything else...bad work and poor maintenance and nothing will last long.