Palm beach cosmetic dentist blog » crown

How long does it take to have an Implant Crown

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:21:21 +0000

Our patients often are under the impression that implants and implant crown take a long time to complete. You have to wait for the bone to heal but in most cases the crown can be placed in about 3 months after the implant is placed. With some implant systems this can be shortened to 6-8 weeks. You must realize that bone takes a certain amount of time to heal. If you broke your arm you would be in a cast 2 months waiting for the bone to heal. The jaw is no different. In many cases however the patient is not left without a tooth for this period of healing. There are many different options available to provide a temporary tooth during this time including temporary dentures. There are situations where implant healing may take longer depending on the quality and quantity of bone.

Is it better to have a Root Canal or an Implant?

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:30:36 +0000

Is it better to have a Root Canal or an Implant? This is a good question. The answer is…..it depends on the condition of the tooth. Let’s discuss Root Canal treatment. If the tooth remains structurally sound and at least 1/3 of the tooth remains as a foundation to build onto than a Root canal may be the right treatment. In order to save a tooth once treated with a root canal the tooth will usually require a crown to restore it to strength. There is a critical limit of tooth structure required to be predictable long term. If there isn’t than investing in the tooth may not be the best option long term. What also needs to be understood is that this is still your natural tooth. This means that this tooth could decay again and is prone to fracture just like any other restored tooth. Our office and Dr. Lerner or Dr. Lemongello will discuss what your best option is in your specific case.

Why can’t I just have a filling?

admin — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:20:09 +0000

Why can’t I just have a filling? We are often asked this question when we are recommending treatment for a cavity. Sometimes you can have just a filling but that depends on how much remaining tooth structure there is. Think of it this way. If there is a lot of tooth left than the tooth is strong and the cavity is small. In this situation a filling is all that is needed. A filling means there is tooth all around the cavity and the area can be filled in. Now consider if about ½ of the tooth is involved in the cavity. In this situation there is not enough tooth left to hold the filling in. Once this occurs there are only two ways to restore the tooth. As long as about ½ of the tooth is left, than a restoration called an onlay can be used to restore the tooth. An onlay is fabricated in the dental laboratory out of a strong, solid block of material. Once this solid piece is bonded or cemented to the tooth it is very strong and will restore the tooth to function. The final option is a crown. In this case even more of the tooth is involved and requires even more re-enforcement to restore the tooth. A crown looks like a new tooth and is placed on top of the remaining base of your tooth. Once cemented or bonded this too is a very strong, predictable way to restore a tooth to function. If we recommend more than a filling it is because long term one of the other options is the appropriate option.

The highest quality of care possible

admin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:25:09 +0000

We often see patients who want to be assured they are receiving the highest quality of care possible. It can be difficult to measure the quality of care in a service industry like dentistry. There are however common factors for dentistry as in all businesses. You often hear “you get what you pay for”. Dentistry is no different. Be cautious about claims for free treatment or special low prices for treatment such as crowns or implants. It may be tempting to try to save money but there is a reason quality care costs more. All crowns are not created equal. Some are produced here in the United States with quality control using only the finest porcelain materials and high content gold metals. Other cheaper versions can be produced in places like China where questionable materials and quality control can be passed off as a high quality product. If a crown or implant is being advertised for hundreds of dollars less than most dentists charge than how could it be the same quality for so much less? In the long term high quality care will pay for itself with improved health and fewer dental problems. Poor quality care leads to additional treatments, more often and usually leads to poor health.

Comprehensive Dentistry

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:39:03 +0000

Comprehensive Dentistry. We often use the term comprehensive dentistry but what does this mean? Today we treated a seasonal patient from Canada in the office referred by a patient in the practice. She was concerned about a fractured back tooth. Often the patient sees the perceived problem of a broken tooth having a simple solution. Just fix the tooth with a crown. On the surface this may seem to be the simple solution but this does not take into account the overall health of the patient’s mouth and how the one broken tooth relates to all the other teeth in the mouth. With the philosophy of comprehensive treatment we see the big picture. We often see the one broken tooth as part of a bigger problem. One broken tooth can be a symptom of overall breakdown in the system. Let’s use the analogy of a car. Often we see worn tires on the front of the car and we think all we need is new tires. Just fix the tires, right! Sometimes this is the case but if we think comprehensively we look beyond the worn tires considering alignment, proper inflation and other related parts of the car and how that affects the wear of the tires. As anyone who has worn out their tires without addressing these other things knows, replacing just the tires will lead to tire failure all over again because the bigger problem and the big picture was not considered. If we consider and repair the other parts of the system often those tires will last for many more miles. Well teeth are the same way. We often need to consider the whole system. As we age so do our teeth but so does the alignment and structural integrity change as well. The quick fix might be to just treat the broken tooth but if we don’t consider treatment of the other issues as well fixing the tooth will not fix the problem for long.