We’ve all done it. You can wander for literally hours looking at ‘nothing’ on the internet. Well, PC World posted the 15 Best Places to waste time on the Internet….take a look. If you have time!!
And now that you’ve made your PC faster, here’s a great site to check it’s speed:
I’ve said that a dental implant is the best possible treatment for this situation, but some would ask why not a bridge?
A few brief reasons. Although an implant is more work (eg: a few surgery appointments, and other visits to make a crown), the ultimate product, the tooth, is LESS maintenance than a bridge. There’s also less chance of trouble or problems with an implant. The tooth behind has a perfect-fitting crown which does NOT need to be replaced. A bridge would require the destruction of this crown and the fabrication of a new one that is part of a bridge. Also, the tooth in front of the fractured area would need a crown, and it is not in need of any work at this time.
Finally, the patient did NOT want a bridge…under ANY circumstances. So the decision in this case was easy!
So this tooth probably had an ‘original’ crack that continued, slowly, until it needed a root canal. Later it completely fractured.
But here’s another reason the tooth under this crown may have fractured. This patient has eaten very hard, crunchy cereal for many years. She was trying to be ‘good’ and eat healthy food, but the trauma of this hard food over the years may also have contributed to the tooth’s demise.
How many of your teeth have a silver filling like this one?
How many of those same silver fillings have a crack like this underneath?
Ask your dentist about replacing these fillings. And don’t be surprised if some of these teeth end up needing a crown. A new filling in a tooth like this simply isn’t enough support as a long-term restoration.
But look what was found under this filling. The tooth had this very deep, significant crack. It runs down toward the top of the nerve in the tooth. In all likelihood Katherine will end up with a root canal on this tooth. Some day it will start to hurt and become VERY sensitive to hot and cold. I placed an extensive tooth-colored filling and the tooth has been fine for the last few months. We will soon place a crown to help bind together and support the remaining tooth structure, and hopefully prevent the tooth from cracking further.
Cracked teeth, gum surgery, possible root canals, pain and discomfort. So how could this have been prevented? Both of these teeth should have been supported and strengthened with crowns YEARS ago! The crowns would bind the teeth together greatly decreasing the pressure inside. This is why we talk about putting a crown on a tooth BEFORE it breaks. It’s more predictable, and could save you the time, money, and pain that this patient had to endure.
The teeth below have small to moderate-sized silver fillings. They were originally filled many years ago (probably 20 or more) and have not been sensitive to hot, cold or biting pressure. You can see there appears to be adequate tooth structure around these fillings to hold them securely. And there is no evidence of cavities or decay around the surface of the filling.
Let’s change subjects. Often people have older silver fillings that are still serviceable. They are conservative, meaning the filling is small and the tooth remaining to hold the filling is still adequate. But over time, the filling can act like a wedge inside the tooth and cause it to split or break. This often occurs from the INSIDE of the tooth first.
