A patient came to Time Dental having broken a tooth and was now experiencing sensitivity to cold drinks and cups of tea. He had not been to see a dentist in over a year and was travelling alot due to work and was now looking for long term continuing care. He informed me that he had broken teeth in the past and had just put it down to old age.
On assessing the tooth half the outer wall of the tooth had broken off. There was still a very large mercury filling in place and a small part of the inside of the tooth still present. It was quite obvious why he was experiencing the sensitivity as his dentine layer was exposed to the elements.
Boken teeth in mercury amalgam fillings as dental emergencies are quite common. They reason is not due to old age; its due to the mercury filling expanding and contracting over time, and combined with the downward pressure on eating food causes internal fracture lines of the tooth. In time either the tooth will break or the filling will break. Mercury amalgam fillings actuallly weaken your tooth.
In instances such as this the only option for the tooth is to crown it to protect the rest of the tooth. A crown acts like a bomb shelter that protects the sides as well as the biting surface of the tooth. They are often recommended when there isn’t mcuh tooth left and the tooth is quite weak. In order to prevent further breaks the crown encapsulates the whole tooth.
Crowns are bespoke handcrafted restorations made by skilled master ceramists and lab technicians. They can be made of gold; metal ceramic or all ceramic. The tooth coloured crowns are the most popular due to them looking very natural. The metal ceramic crowns are the traditional tooth coloured crowns which have metal underneath the tooth coloured ceramic. All-ceramic crowns are the best for strength and aesthetics. The sub structure can be made of zirconia which is extremely strong and durable.
Time Dental provides this service for patients from the Alton area in Hampshire as well as the surrounding towns and villages in Surrey and West Sussex.
