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If one of your teeth breaks because of decay or fracture, there is not enough mass left to place a dental crown on it. This does not mean, however, that the tooth has to be pulled. Houston cosmetic dentists can restore the tooth using a post and crown. A post is placed inside of the tooth and a filling material, called a core, is placed around it. The post helps anchor the core to the teeth and is more sophisticated than a dental core. A dental core can be placed in any tooth, but because a post and core is more sophisticated and more stable, it can only be placed in a tooth that has undergone a root canal. Your dentist will probably recommend a post and core if more than half of your tooth’s crown portion has been lost. In this situation, you have to have the post to anchor the core in place. If more than fifty percent of your tooth crown remains however, a standard dental core may be all you need.The dental post is made of stainless steel titanium and will not harm your mouth or cause infection in any way. Your Houston cosmetic dentist may also use a metal free carbon fiber post. This depends on your body chemistry and the condition of your teeth, mouth, etc.
Placing a post and coreThe first step in placing a post is performing root canal therapy on your tooth. The dentist has to do this in order to get rid of the infection and shape the root canal to receive the post. We will then use a special tool called a dental file to create a post space at the top of the root canal. This space will follow a path in the filling material that was placed during the tooth's root canal treatment. Then we take a post that is specifically sized to match this prepared space and cement it in place. Once we secured the post, a dental core (made of cosmetic dental restorative material) will be placed around and over its exposed end. Both the natural toot structure and the post will work together to anchor this material in place. The Post and core procedureOnce the cosmetic dental material has hardened, we shape it so it can receive and support a dental crown. After that, we take an impression of your teeth so that the dental lab will be able to custom-craft a crown that will precisely match your tooth.You will need a temporary crown while we wait for the lab to finish making your crown. This will protect your tooth and keep it in alignment with other teeth. Be sure to take care of your temporary and call us immediately if you have any problems, or if it somehow falls out.
When you come back for your next appointment we will remove the temporary crown and replace it with a permanent crown.The benefits of a post and corePlacing a post and core has great benefits. These include:
- Support for remaining teeth
- A better anchor for a crowned tooth that has undergone a root canal
- Reliable crown retention for years to come
Labels: dental post and core, root canal, root canals
Ask the Dental Experts Our philosophy is to help our patients achieve and maintain exceptional dental health. We work hard to make sure that our level of care is deserving of our patients’ respect and confidence. Our tradition of preventive dentistry is the basis for all service and care in our practice. We welcome all questions and comments regarding dentistry in the hope that we increase your dental "IQ" and help you make better dental health decisions.Hello,
My lower right molar has a very large filling. I have an abscess and a boil has developed on the outside of my gum. Two courses of antibiotic treatment have not eradicated the infection. The abscess has caused no pain whatsoever and my dentist wants to do an extraction. I refused this and asked if root canal treatment could be considered, but he said "no". I am an NHS patient who resides in the UK. Could something be done to keep the tooth, albeit it probably is "dead". I would be grateful if you could give me an answer to my query.
Either solution could be right --- this is a common finding around an abscessed tooth. Root canal treatment is generally the best treatment, but there are absolutely situations in which the tooth cannot be saved. Root fracture, advanced decay, periodontal breakdown, and some other situations can make a tooth completely non-restorable. Cannot tell from afar, sorry..
Chuck Campbell, DDS
Dale Brant, DDS
(713) 795-5905
Labels: abscess, root canal, root fracture
Tooth Pain Resulting From Root Canal
Ask the Dental ExpertsOur philosophy is to help our patients achieve and maintain exceptional dental health. We work hard to make sure that our level of care is deserving of our patients’ respect and confidence. Our tradition of preventive dentistry is the basis for all service and care in our practice. We welcome all questions and comments regarding dentistry in the hope that we increase your dental "IQ" and help you make better dental health decisions.Hello, My wife has had several root canals and a full mouth of crowns installed in the last six months. She has had very serious pain seeming to emminate from the teeth which have had root canal work. Her face is clearly swollen on her left side today. On her left side she had one lower and two upper molers given root canal. The dentist in Mexico first recommended Flagyl when the problem kept reooccuring he swithched her to ampasillan. Extensive treatment with both meds have not stopped the reoccurance of the swelling and pain.In addittion she has horrific bouts of diarrea which Flagyl seems to help and when she stops the medication tyhe diarrea returns. What can this be what treatment should we be following. Her dentist says because her bridgework is not yet complete on her right side rear and because she grinds her teeth in her sleep she is causing this pain. Please help. Thank you.
Thanks for the note – sounds like a complicated situation. Both of us are experienced in managing advanced dental restorative projects such as this one. The only way we could be able to help you is for us to give you a second opinion and give you our recommendations. In order to do this, we will need our own set of x-rays and photos and some time to examine her. In complex dental treatment such as this, there are always issues to clear up that are not foreseen.
If you would like for one of us to re-evaluate her situation, please call for an appointment.
Chuck Campbell, DDS
Dale Brant, DDS
(713) 795-5905Labels: flagyl, pain in tooth, root canal, tooth pain
Cosmetic Dental Implants Used in Full Mouth Reconstruction for Patient with 50 Percent Missing Teeth
A patient by the name of Kim came to us, quite distraught about her severe case of missing teeth. She was 47 when we met her, and she had suffered tremendous dental problems since she was 12 years old. She had crashed her bicycle one day, and had broken off her front teeth. Since that time, she reported, she not only experienced missing teeth, but suffered from constant infections in her mouth.
She had been through many episodes in her mouth where a variety of dental ailments afflicted her. Severe swelling would arise in her mouth, accompanied by intense pain. She would develop toothaches that were so sudden, and so severe; she would have to be rushed to the emergency room at midnight. Dental emergency treatment almost always ended with teeth being pulled because of the degree of pain and infection in her teeth and gums. This only resulted in more tooth loss, and seemed to never resolve the root cause of the infections which appeared mysteriously linked to her childhood accident.
By the time more than half of her teeth were gone; Kim had all but given up on dentistry. The heartache of being young and attractive, but having so many missing teeth, made her shy about smiling, or even opening her mouth at all in front of people. Years went by, and she never went to a dentist, believing nothing at all could be done to restore so many missing teeth or cure the infections that kept developing in her mouth.
Then, by some strange twist of serendipity, Kim learned of the Medical Center Dental Group through a newspaper ad we ran in the Houston Chronicle. She read about our commitment to patient care and comfort, and how we have helped so many people with complex and challenging problems, including severe cases of missing teeth. This gave her enough hope and courage to schedule an appointment with us.
We used a combination of treatments to restore Kim’s lost teeth and remedy the constant bouts with infection. Our intraoral camera revealed advanced periodontal disease, which appeared to have been the cause of so many teeth becoming infected to the point they had to be pulled. Whether or not this periodontal disease resulted from her bicycle accident as a child remained a mystery. Nevertheless, were able to successfully treat her periodontal disease with LANAP. We also performed a series of root canals to ensure that all diseased and dying nerve and tooth root tissue were completely removed from Kim’s mouth.
Once her mouth had completely recovered, and there were no remaining symptoms of toothaches or periodontal disease, we then began the cosmetic phase of dental treatment. We used a total of 5 cosmetic dental implants to replace missing teeth in key areas of her jaws that needed strength and support. (Sometimes, advanced periodontal disease and deterioration of the bone limits the number of implants we can use.) The remainder of her full mouth reconstruction was done with fixed porcelain bridges and crowns, creating a new, healthy, natural looking smile she had not enjoyed since childhood.
Besides the obvious cosmetic improvements, Kim can now eat more comfortable, speak with more confidence, and be proud of her smile instead of holding her hand over her mouth all the time.Labels: alternative to dental surgery, cosmetic dental crowns, cosmetic dental procedures, full mouth reconstruction, LANAP, missing teeth, root canal
Six months ago we were contacted by a patient named Sandra, who told us that one of her teeth intermittently hurt when she ate. The pain seemed to be in a certain molar toward the bottom front of her mouth. When she felt it, it was very sharp. However, it lacked the constant aching feeling most people associate with toothaches. She had looked at the tooth in the mirror several times, but found nothing wrong with it.
When Sandra came in for her appointment, we pull up her medical history on our computer. It revealed that she had been suffering from anxiety for the past few years. This caused her to grind her teeth at night without even knowing she was doing it. (In dental terminology, this grinding of teeth is known as Bruxism. We investigated further, taking a good, close look at the tooth in question by means of our intraoral camera. We found there was a very fine, but severely deep crack on the inside surface of the molar. In fact, this crack was so deep it was dangerously close to breaking into the nerve chamber. If were to happen, the way to avoid tooth extraction would have been to perform a root canal.
Cracked tooth syndrome is not the same thing as a fractured tooth. Fractures are more severe, and often clearly visible in the mirror even without dental instruments. Cracked tooth syndrome is much more subtle. It often takes very sophisticated dental instruments to detect the cracks in teeth, and since the syndrome causes such intermittent symptoms at times, many people assume that the problem is not that severe. This is not the case. If the crack in the tooth works its way all the way to the nerve cavity, then a root canal or tooth extraction becomes imminent. An early diagnosis, as we were able to provide for Sandra, can often prevent such drastic measures.
A number of things can cause cracked tooth syndrome. Repetitive chewing itself can cause very fine cracks, known as stress fractures that can develop into the syndrome. Bruxism is another cause that can crack the teeth. Trauma to the mouth often causes cracked tooth syndrome as well. Chewing on ice and hard candy is another cause for this condition.
Sandra was very fortunate. We had caught the condition quickly enough to avoid a root canal. We were able to cap the tooth with a cosmetic dental crown made to mimic her original tooth. The procedure was painless, and the resulting smile looked as good as the one she brought in. She has also reported since that day that all pain has left her mouth.
It is essential that anyone who thinks they have a cracked tooth call the Cosmetic Dentistry Center and schedule a dental appointment as soon as possible. Just because the symptoms are intermittent does not mean the condition should be ignored.Labels: cosmetic dental crowns, cracked tooth syndrom, intermittent toothache, root canal, tooth fracture
Last month we got a call from a lady named Stacey who was suffering from an intermittent and annoying toothache. The pain did not appear to have any definite pattern or cause. Sometimes her tooth would ache while she drank anything cold or hot. At other times, she would feel intense pain while chewing foods, although the constituency of the food (hard or soft) did not appear to matter. Then, at other times, she would eat an entire meal with no symptoms of a toothache at all. She decided to call us when she felt a dull, throbbing pain in the side of her mouth during the workday, making her irritable and causing her to have difficulty focusing on her job.
It may surprise you to learn that what Stacey experienced is not unusual. Many people assume that a toothache is just that---a tooth that aches with intense, chronic pain all the time. This is not always the case. Many people suffer from intermittent toothache symptoms that linger for hours, and then disappear as suddenly as they came. If this happens to you, you may find it hard to function in even the simplest areas of life, because you never know when the next round of pain is going to begin.
Toothache symptoms should be taken seriously, no matter how mild they may be at times, and no matter how irregularly they appear to come and go. This is because toothaches almost always originate deep within the tooth and indicate that something is wrong with the root itself. This is common with people who had silver-mercury fillings years ago, which have since fallen out undetected. By the time decay sets in to the point that toothache symptoms begin to felt, a root canal is often the only course of action. If left untreated, a dying root can become abscessed, and create an even worse condition.
In the case of Stacey, the culprit was an old silver-mercury filling that had fallen out of one of her teeth. Our intraoral camera showed very clearly where this had reopened the cavity and allowed infection to set into the root pocket. Even though the symptoms of her toothache were relatively mild and sporadic, the intermittent severity was deceptive. When a tooth root dies, it may not hurt significantly until the very last, and at that point, a severe infection or abscess is usually well underway.
Fortunately, this was not the case with Stacey. We had detected the problem soon enough to treat her with a simple root canal and dental crown. She has since reported all pain has left her mouth, and the new implant is not even noticeable in comparison to her natural teeth.
If you are a persona like Stacey who suffers from intermittent toothache symptoms, please call our office as soon as possible. Waiting until the last minute can result in very severe complications. Proactive, early treatment will deal with both the cause and the symptoms with much less pain and cost to you in the long run.Labels: abscess, emergency toothache treatment, intermittent toothache, pain in tooth, root canal, toothache symptoms
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