Same Day Crowns on Front Teeth
I broke a front tooth and was hoping to get one of those same day CEREC crowns. My dentist said that it is a bad idea and wants me to do a traditional crown. Should I get a referral to a dentist who would do the CEREC crown for me or stick with the traditional?
Emily
Dear Emily,
CEREC crowns are wonderful ways to get a dental crown in just one appointment. However, I would not recommend them for a front tooth. Teeth have a variety of opacities throughout their structure. Parts of them will be more translucent. Same day crowns are milled from a single block of porcelain, which means the crown will be uniform throughout. When dealing with a tooth that is not on a front tooth, it will look fine. However, front teeth are a different story. They are exposed directly to the light, which means it will be obvious you have a single block of porcelain.
If you instead had it done with a traditional porcelain crown, the ceramist could use a variety of porcelains which would mimic the variety of the tooth structure. Even then, your dentist will likely have to do several try ins before he gets it to match the adjacent teeth. This would be a normal procedure for front teeth. Make sure your dentist uses a temporary try-in paste and will redo the porcelain crown until it matches perfectly.
It sounds to me that your dentist is trying to protect you from a disappointing result. I’d go with his recommendation.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.
Infected Tooth and No Money
I’m missing one back tooth and have another that has had some decay for a while. Now I am pretty sure that it is infected. My problem is that I do not have dental insurance but I do have health insurance. Is there a way I can use my health insurance to get an antibiotic for a dental problem? My jaw is becoming quite swollen.
Abraham
Dear Abraham,
I am glad you wrote. What you don’t want to do is use antibiotics as a solution for this. Even if your medical insurance would cover a dental issue, which it will not, an antibiotic will only be a very temporary solution. Then, once the antibiotics are done, your infection will blow up even worse with no way to keep it under control.
The only way to really get rid of a tooth infection is by a dentist getting in there and physically removing the infected pulp of the tooth. Ideally, this would be done with a root canal treatment because it would save your tooth. If that is no longer possible, the other treatment option is to extract the tooth. The downside to the extraction option is that you will need to replace the tooth. Otherwise the adjacent teeth will shift or tip into the empty space. This will throw off your bite and could lead to headaches, jaw pain, and TMJ Disorder.
The best tooth replacement is a dental implant, but that is also the most expensive. There are several other options. If you do need an extraction your dentist is ethically obligated to give you all of them.
With the swelling you have in your jaw, that signals to me that your infection has spread. I would consider this a dental emergency and get in right away. I know you don’t have dental insurance, but if you call around and explain your situation, I feel like you should be able to find a dentist who would be willing to allow you to pay it out and get the treatment you need.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.