Palm beach cosmetic dentist blog » crown

It is not a good idea to use super glue to re-cement a crown

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:02:03 +0000

It is not a good idea to use super glue to re-cement a crown. When a crown comes out there can be a number of reasons for this happening. Usually the cement holding it in finally gives out or possibly there is a new cavity underneath and the crown comes out. If this occurs contact your dentist as soon as possible to replace it. The longer it remains out the greater the potential for problems with fitting it back in. There are temporary cement materials available over the counter at the pharmacy that may hold you over until you see a dentist but don’t use super glue. Recently we saw a patient who did and it created a number of additional problems. Chances are it will create problems for you too and may even cause you to need a new crown instead of just replacing the old one. It could be a costly mistake. Our office and our doctors are always available for emergency treatment.

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

admin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:31:16 +0000

Is it better to have an Implant or a Root Canal? This is a good question. Let’s discuss dental implants. If the tooth in question is not structurally sound than an implant should be considered and may be your best choice. If less than at least 1/3 of your natural tooth remains there may not be enough tooth left to restore. A root canal could be completed but the difficulty lies in restoring the tooth with long term success in mind. There is a minimal amount of tooth structure necessary to restore a tooth. If there is not enough to structure left than a large post or strut will most likely be required to help support a crown. If the ratio of the post to crown is poor than the post itself may also weekend the tooth even more. If there is not enough tooth structure left than the tooth should be removed and an implant and crown placed. Otherwise you may be investing a lot of money to save a tooth with a poor prognosis. Our office and Dr. Lerner or Dr. Lemongello can discuss your situation and advise you on your best option.

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 a tooth may remain sensitive after treatment

admin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:10:55 +0000

Have you ever wondered why a tooth may remain sensitive after treatment? Although, this is not that common it does happen. Usually the tooth being treated has a history of a cavity or old filling. Any time you treat a tooth it causes trauma to the nerve. There is always a chance that this trauma is enough to make a tooth sensitive. In most cases this sensitivity will subside as the nerve of the tooth recovers. If not it probably means that the nerve of the tooth was already compromised from the cavity. There may be some minor palliative measures that can be taken by our office to help the tooth recover. If the tooth is being crowned we may elect to cement the crown with a medicated temporary cement to give the tooth time to recover.

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.

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.