I had a crown placed several years ago. It was done by the computerized machines that do it the same day. Before doing the crown, she used a drill to remove a metal post. When I went back for a checkup this year with a new dentist, she told me that the crown was not fitting well and would need to be redone. She also said the post should have been removed using an ultrasonic to remove the post by vibration. As I am about to replace the crown, I am hoping you can help with with two things. First, did drilling the post damamge the bone structure? Second, are the same day crowns as good as the porcelain ones? I liked the convenience, but want the best crown.
Carol
Dear Carol,
The drilling will not have damaged the bone. Dentists are drilling on teeth regularly. There is a risk, however. That comes with the fact that the drill could slip while in use and perforate the root of the tooth, which would lead to needing to extract and replace the tooth.
As to whether your other dentist should have used an ultrasonic device or not, that is always the ideal and I hope they tried that first, but there are times that those posts will only come out with a drill.
Before you replace this crown, I would like you to get a second opinion. When she said the crown wasn’t fitting properly that was quite vague. Did she mean the margins were open, and by that I mean gaps? That would be a reason to replace the crowns. But, if that was the issue, why not just say that? If that isn’t an issue than your crown is probably fine. Hence, the second opinion.
You asked a great question about whether the same day crowns are as good as the porcelain ones. The answer is yes. In fact, both are porcelain. The same day crowns are milled by a computer from a single block of porcelain. Traditional crowns are created by a ceramist and may use a variety of blocks of porcelain.
I hope this helps.
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