Visit a Cosmetic Dentist If Your Dental Crown Is Loose or Broken

As a cosmetic dentist, we treat patients who are struggling with a variety of oral health issues. Restorations can make it possible to save a tooth that has been infected or damaged, and dental crowns are one of the best restorative options available. Still, they are not immune from becoming damaged, nor is the tooth underneath. While a well-made crown can last 15 years or longer, there are times where a crown or the tooth underneath may become damaged, creating the need for another dental appointment.

If you run your tongue along your teeth and notice that your dental crown feels broken or chipped, you should seek immediate dental care, but remain calm. Typically, this is cause for an appointment, though not an emergency one unless you are also in severe discomfort. You can start by calling our office to schedule an appointment and then place a cold compress on your face for 15 minutes to reduce any swelling. You can also take ibuprofen to reduce any discomfort you may have. Until you can get to our office, be careful with what you eat and stick with foods that are soft and not too hot or too cold. Otherwise, you could create further irritation and damage.

As a cosmetic dentist, we also recommend that you feel how loose the dental crown is. If it feels like it may fall off, there is a risk that it could indeed do so and be swallowed. In this case, you should visit us right away. While scheduling your appointment, let us know how loose the crown is, and we will make recommendations regarding whether or not you should try to remove it on your own. Do not try this without our guidance.

When you visit our cosmetic dentist office, we will examine your damaged or loose crown and your teeth. We will need to determine whether the damage is to the crown, the tooth, or both. Next, we will create a treatment plan to address whatever issue there may be. In some cases, a damaged crown can be smoothed and repaired, while, in others, it must be removed entirely. In this situation, we will either recommend replacing the crown with a new one or replacing the tooth with a dental implant. This is particularly relevant if the tooth underneath is damaged and unable to be restored with a new crown. We are experts at this procedure, so if you do need a dental implant, we can give you a permanent replacement tooth that will function like a natural one, be beautiful, and blend in completely. There is no way to know for certain what the condition of your tooth or crown will be until you visit us for an examination, so delaying is not in your best interest.

While waiting for your cosmetic dentist appointment, be careful with all of your teeth, engage in low-impact activities, and eat soft foods until we can examine and correct the problem.

Implant Dentist  >  Dental Implants

Find Out if Dental Implants Are Right For You

From a technological standpoint, dental implants have completely changed the way we all look at tooth loss. There was time, not so long ago when the loss of a tooth meant the prospect of having to deal with things like dentures or even dental bridges. By creating a system that not only replaces the surface tooth, also known as the crown but also the lost root itself, dental implants have brought stability and longevity to tooth replacement. As with any technological advancement, the rise of dental implants in popularity has also given rise to questions from patients. Everybody wants to know if they work (yes), what the procedure is to get them, and if you as an individual qualify to get dental implants. The answer to the final question is also yes, but there are certain requirements you will need to meet in order to ensure you are healthy enough to sustain an implant. To make sure that you are indeed healthy enough and that your mouth can support an implant, we will do an extensive examination. There are a few conditions that may preclude you temporarily or permanently from getting a dental implant. Some of these are found in people with out-of-control diabetes, patients who have cancer and are seeking active radiation treatment, dental patients with untreated periodontal disease, and even patients who have a severe addiction to cigarettes or alcohol. All of these make it so there is an increased risk of the implant not taking, that the body will not adhere to the implant, and thus, the operation will not be as successful as it should be.

Dental implants are successful. There is no question about that, with some studies even placing the success rate of dental implants around 98 percent, though we prefer a more conservative estimate of 94 percent. The reason why implants are so wildly effective is the care we take before we ever start you down the road to getting implants. For every patient who comes in wanting implants, we will start by making sure your jaw has the capacity to withstand and even sustain these implants. To do this, we will begin with a full examination that includes x-rays and a CT scan. This use of dental imaging gives us a clear understanding of the capacity of your jaw and whether or not you need a bone graft to stabilize the jawbone for the implant.

For some patients who have the required density, we can proceed directly to the implant phase, which is known as immediate implant placement. For others, the process may take a little longer, as we will need to perform an alveolar bone graft that targets the upper portion of the jawbone where the teeth are typically located. Using an onlay bone graft, we are able to create a block of bone into which the implant is placed, giving the implant the stability it needs from the bone itself. Healing time is usually around six months between the graft and the date when we can start with the actual implant procedure.

Cosmetic Dentist  >  Oral Surgery