Dental crown ? (infections, permanent, problems, root canal)

[raidgirl]

You guys are the best !
Thanks
I feel better

[CosmicWizard]

Tightwad wrote:

"IF" ,and that's a huge if, a crown were to come loose then hope you don't swallow it before you can save it.

That brings back what is now a hilarious memory. I was introduced to the world of crowns as an 11 year old kid. I was playing football and I tackled a kid from behind, knocking my front tooth against the back of his head, which broke my tooth. I don't know what was worse, the shock of breaking the tooth or the sheer terror of telling my mom that I broke my tooth ( I wasn't supposed to be playing tackle football in the first place ).

Fast forward a few hours. I'm in the hot seat at the dentsit office, with the temporary crown prep work in process. He had that thing almost good-to-go and when he was checking the fit, it fell off and I SWALLOWED IT! It was utter panic at the time. He then prepared a solution of soapy water for me to drink and make me throw up, but I refused to play that game because throwing up was ( and still is ) a dreadful experience for me. So the only other option was to start the temporary crown ( it was called a cap back in those days ) prep from scratch. Man, that was one of the worse days of my life, maybe the worst! It's funny now, but it was sheer horror at the time. After all that I still had to face my dad and listen to him tell me...I told you so ( the possibility of breaking a tooth was the reason I was not allowed to play tackle football )!

[AnonChick]

Originally Posted by raidgirl

Thank you all for your replies.

One more question.

If , god forbid, the crown of the front tooth came out while , say on a vacation, what are the options ?
Go the local dentist as an emergency ?
Put the crown back some how temporarily ?

Anyone have any experiences ?

If the crown comes loose for some bizarre reason (this is very unlikely but anything's possible) and is easily removed, you will *definitely* want to put it right back on asap. You can use Fixodent, or any other temporary denture adhesive, until you can get to the dentist to have it properly replaced.

This happened to me when I went on vacation with a temporary bridge. I was absolutely mortified. A quick call to the dentist was all I needed to relax for the rest of the trip.

The problem with NOT replacing it immediately, is that your tooth structure will have been compromised and *whether or not you had a root canal* will be sensitive to heat/cold/air.

With a single tooth crown, the amount of fixadent you'd need would probably cover the head of a straight pin. It would probably last you all day, and into the following day. If you're worried about wearing it while you sleep, you'll want to stick a cotton ball around the exposed tooth to protect it til you get up the next day.

It's not a big deal, but it's embarrassing and uncomfortable, and if it happens abruptly, it'll make you say OMGWTF!! before you realize it's OKAY and relax again

[sweetheart1311]

I hope you have a very good dentist.

I am super unlucky when it comes to dentists. I never go to one twice, because they always mess something up.
I don't want to scare you, but I have 2 crowns (back teeth), and I had a horrible experience with them.

The first dentist made an impression and ordered the crowns. When they came back, they took off my temp crowns, put in the permanent ones only to find out that they don't fit.

After he did put in the new perm. crowns, a year later another dentist told me there was a gap between my teeth and the crowns (both of them!!!), which allows the bacteria to enter, so they had to replace both of my crowns!!! I requested my money back from the original dentist and actually got it back.

My temp. crowns at the second dentist fell out, so I had to go back in to get them readjusted. After they put in the new perm. ones I was in pain for 2 weeks - they said that I might need a root canal . Fortunately, all they had to do is readjust the bite. I'm terrified to go to my next cleaning...

[Grandpa Pipes]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

If the crown comes loose for some bizarre reason (this is very unlikely but anything's possible) and is easily removed, you will *definitely* want to put it right back on asap. You can use Fixodent, or any other temporary denture adhesive, until you can get to the dentist to have it properly replaced.

This happened to me when I went on vacation with a temporary bridge. I was absolutely mortified. A quick call to the dentist was all I needed to relax for the rest of the trip.

The problem with NOT replacing it immediately, is that your tooth structure will have been compromised and *whether or not you had a root canal* will be sensitive to heat/cold/air.

With a single tooth crown, the amount of fixadent you'd need would probably cover the head of a straight pin. It would probably last you all day, and into the following day. If you're worried about wearing it while you sleep, you'll want to stick a cotton ball around the exposed tooth to protect it til you get up the next day.

It's not a big deal, but it's embarrassing and uncomfortable, and if it happens abruptly, it'll make you say OMGWTF!! before you realize it's OKAY and relax again

It is extremely important to get that crown back on ASAP to avoid any tooth changes. I don't know about using Fixodent so let a dentist advise you on that until you can get in to a dentist.

Originally Posted by sweetheart1311

I hope you have a very good dentist.

I am super unlucky when it comes to dentists. I never go to one twice, because they always mess something up.
I don't want to scare you, but I have 2 crowns (back teeth), and I had a horrible experience with them.

The first dentist made an impression and ordered the crowns. When they came back, they took off my temp crowns, put in the permanent ones only to find out that they don't fit.

After he did put in the new perm. crowns, a year later another dentist told me there was a gap between my teeth and the crowns (both of them!!!), which allows the bacteria to enter, so they had to replace both of my crowns!!! I requested my money back from the original dentist and actually got it back.

My temp. crowns at the second dentist fell out, so I had to go back in to get them readjusted. After they put in the new perm. ones I was in pain for 2 weeks - they said that I might need a root canal . Fortunately, all they had to do is readjust the bite. I'm terrified to go to my next cleaning...

My Lord! I've never ever encountered dentist's like those you had work on your teeth! My guess is to check out each dentist out with folk's who go to him/her.

[Grandpa Pipes]

Originally Posted by raidgirl

My dentist recommended crowns for my front two teeth because they are weak from enamel loss.

This has been bothering me.

I also had enamel loss to which my dentist said if I were to have a strong tooth to bite and tear with I would need either porcelain/gold or pure gold. He said any other material on those teeth might not last ,or do well, because you bite and pull at the same time with the front teeth.

I know my dentist well enough to believe him so (as a guy) I went all gold.

Whatever you decide make sure that the dentist explains what he wants to do to your satisfaction and if you don't like what he wants to do remind him/her that you're the customer so it's your way or you leave. Don't let any dentist/doctor buffalo you into a bad choice.

Good luck!

[AnonChick]

I don't bite or pull with my front teeth. I have no occlusion (that means my top and bottom front teeth don't touch when my jaw is clenched and back teeth are pressed together). Front teeth -can- serve as "place setters," allow for clear speech, and provide a more cosmetic role, as long as all the molars are fully functional. You chew, gnaw, grind, tug, and crack with your molars. Incisors and front teeth are secondary for humans with regards to ingestion.

As for temporary denture adhesive, it is intended as a temporary measure, an emergency measure, to keep the cap in place until you can get to a dentist. Exactly as you said - you really need to keep that tooth covered. The best thing to cover it, is the thing that just fell off of it; the crown itself. And the only way that crown is going to stay on, UNTIL it can be replaced properly by the dentist, is with some kind of non-dentist-applied adhesive. The only adhesive (that someone who doesn't know how to properly compound the adhesive the dentist uses) that is -intended- for dental prophylaxis, is denture adhesive. Fixodent is one brand of several on the market. There are also "temporary filling" products on the market, but they aren't adhesives, and won't work for crowns.

[lucknow]

All my crowns are long gone. I would never get them again. The tooth can still have problems after a crown is put on it. Implants are the way to go in my opinion.

[Cyanna]

Most people I know who have crowns are happy with them. However, I was unfortunate enough to have mine done by a British dentist while I lived in the UK and all of my upper teeth were crowned...BADLY! I didn't even need the crowns because my teeth were perfect, but he used scare tactics just days after I found out my mom was dying and I needed to get back to the States to see her. Needless to say, by the time he was done with me he ended up with a nice new car and I ended up with $40,000 worth of damage to ALL of my teeth, which my American dentist is slowly getting back into shape.

So, just make sure you have a very good dentist and all should go well

[Vicky Lucky]

I have a question. A tooth on the down molar is infected, the gum shrinks. The dentist wants to put the crown on this tooth, but the crown will not touch the gum. I am wondering how long I can keep this tooth with crown before it needs root canal job. This tooth has a big filling. Will this tooth be better with root canal before crown or without root canal after crown? What is the difference between the tooth (with crown) with root canal done and not done? Thanks a lot for any help!