Restoring a Large Cavity
When a tooth loses a large filling, the best way of restoring a large filling is to place a permanent crown over the tooth. Because the large cavity has already destroyed so much of the tooth, a filling alone will not be enough, generally, to give the tooth protection and strength.
Why is a filling not enough?
We are not saying it is not enough. Because we use cosmetic dental bonding resin, much can be done to fill in the cavity with a biofriendly material that is much better than silver mercury amalgam. However, there is a need to reshape the tooth and remove any decay that formed around the old cavity, and this is where we run into problems.
So much tooth matter gets lost in the cleaning and reshaping process that restoring a large cavity with even the best dental bonding resin may still not be enough. You see, the tooth must be able to handle normal biting and chewing pressure, and if only a thin shell of its outer surface has survived the decay and loss of a filling, there is no way we can provide this type of strength with a new filling alone.
The best course of action is to crown the tooth with a cosmetic tooth restoration of some kind. Normally, this is a porcelain crown.
What does the crown do for the tooth, then?
The crown first and foremost covers the tooth so that food debris cannot attach to its surface. This denies bacteria the opportunity to grow and form plaque. A crown’s hard surface can chew food like a normal tooth, and you can brush and floss it just like you can any other tooth.
The one thing you do have to be mindful of is the space between the edge of the ground and the gum. This is a very tiny space, but it is also a very dangerous space to ignore. It has to be brushed and flossed with extra care in order to keep bacteria from getting underneath the crown and attacking the tooth again.
How do you determine if a crown is the best way of restoring a large cavity?
We simply look at how big the cavity is and how much of your tooth is still standing. If it is clear to us that the tooth is not going to survive on its own, then it needs to be crowned.
We don’t just use guesswork or visual examination alone to determine this. We have all sorts of sophisticated equipment here at our office that can tell us the precise condition of your tooth and what it needs to be restored.
Why is a filling not enough?
We are not saying it is not enough. Because we use cosmetic dental bonding resin, much can be done to fill in the cavity with a biofriendly material that is much better than silver mercury amalgam. However, there is a need to reshape the tooth and remove any decay that formed around the old cavity, and this is where we run into problems.
So much tooth matter gets lost in the cleaning and reshaping process that restoring a large cavity with even the best dental bonding resin may still not be enough. You see, the tooth must be able to handle normal biting and chewing pressure, and if only a thin shell of its outer surface has survived the decay and loss of a filling, there is no way we can provide this type of strength with a new filling alone.
The best course of action is to crown the tooth with a cosmetic tooth restoration of some kind. Normally, this is a porcelain crown.
What does the crown do for the tooth, then?
The crown first and foremost covers the tooth so that food debris cannot attach to its surface. This denies bacteria the opportunity to grow and form plaque. A crown’s hard surface can chew food like a normal tooth, and you can brush and floss it just like you can any other tooth.
The one thing you do have to be mindful of is the space between the edge of the ground and the gum. This is a very tiny space, but it is also a very dangerous space to ignore. It has to be brushed and flossed with extra care in order to keep bacteria from getting underneath the crown and attacking the tooth again.
How do you determine if a crown is the best way of restoring a large cavity?
We simply look at how big the cavity is and how much of your tooth is still standing. If it is clear to us that the tooth is not going to survive on its own, then it needs to be crowned.
We don’t just use guesswork or visual examination alone to determine this. We have all sorts of sophisticated equipment here at our office that can tell us the precise condition of your tooth and what it needs to be restored.
Labels: all porcelain crowns, dental tooth restoration, restoring a large cavity
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