thanks for the reply guys. My wife really doesn't want to lose the tooth. I don't blame her. We are thinking that it may be possible to get the crown and watch the pain the tooth for infections (real carefully). If after a few months things are doing ok, we will keep watching it for another few years. Possibly getting it removed some years later. It cannot be good that the body really has no way to control infection inside the tooth the immune system must constantly be monitoring and possibly fighting infection next to the tooth at the gum area where initial contact is made to ward off diseases. That is alot to ask of our immune system and all the time at that. Overtime the immune system gets depleted and needs rest. Since this tooth was not infected before the amalgam removal it presented no problem other than the amalgam itself. Timing is going to be crucial as to when to remove the tooth. My concern is that we wait too long before removing the tooth and it starts to infect other system(s) or body parts that we cannot treat effectively. Any suggestions here? Sorry this is in the wrong forum, I was in a rush.