Older dental crown?

Question

Long story short, I've had porcelian over metal crowns over my 2 front teeth for the past 10 years. I haven't had a single problem out of these crowns, then suddenly last night the left one became loose. I bit down on a cinnimon bun, of all things, and felt sort of a pop, bit down entirely and my bite was off. Went to the ladies room and checked it out, the crown shifted bottom forward.

I have had no odd taste or odor out of these crowns that typically signify a failing cement bond. I recently switched to Rembrandt toothpaste, if that possibly has anything to do with it. Why would the bond suddenly fail without warning?

The second issue is that ever since placement, my gums have been slightly blue. They do not bleed and they are not painful. I brush and floss daily, so it can't be due to poor dental hygine. No dentist has ever been able to recommend something to fix the blue tinge. I plan on asking my dentist AGAIN tomorrow if there's anything I can do.

Advice appreciated.

Um, the crown isn't damaged, I don't need a new crown. I won't know what needs to be done until I go in tomorrow. I was looking for advice relivant to the actual question(s), not a generic BS answer.

XVNicolevx, THANK you. They are porcelian over metal. No dentist ever told me that they could cause that blue-ish ring. I do go in every 6 months for cleaning and examination of the crowns, and I specifically tell them to address the crowns. At my last check up, there was nothing out of the ordinary with the underlying structure

Tina, you addressed an issue I forgot to mention. I have been using a night guard for about the past 3 years due to grinding problems (with great success) I grind due to a slipped bottom canine that was pressed forward (along with that row of molars) from impacted wisdom teeth. It presses against the top canine. I've been meaning to get an orthodontic consult and a cosmetic consult regarding that specific canine to find out what the best option is for that tooth.

I have to thank both ladies for addressing the blue gum issue - I actually became extremely self conscious of it due to dental hygenists... hence slightly obsessive dental hygine. Several dental hygenists have been insensitive about the color of my gums around my two front teeth, and obviously know nothing regarding dental crowns or they should have known it was normal. Not that knowing it's normal will change my habits now... but it definitely helps ease the self consciousness.

Answer 1

The tooth paste you have changed to should NOT have anything to do with the bonding of the PFM crowns. The cause of the crown loosening and shifting is due to continual clenching and possibly grinding throughout the decade since you had them installed. You see we all clench and some of us grind our teeth in our sleep during the R.E.M. pattern. It is absolutely normal for all of us to at least clench for approx. 20 minutes during this sleep cycle. (long scientic reason as to why we humans do this--)

IF your bite is somewhat off, you may also in this sleep stage be grinding. From the many yrs. of this behavior the crowns have become loose and the integrity of the bonding cement will be compromised; therefor, when biting into something absolutely soft like the bun you bit into you became surprised.

AS FOR THE BLUE TINGE: you are correct-- it has nothing to do with your more than perfect hygiene ( I am very impressed with your hygiene habits by the way-- most of us don't floss as regularly as you do)--anyway, the tinge is coming from the reflection of the metal margin glowing through the gums and the only way to stop it is to replace the PFMs to all porcelain crowns.

The porcelain baked onto metal crown has a metal margin that the dentist has tucked underneath your gum-line AND if you did not brush and floss regularly --as you aged your gums would recede and expose that ugly metal margin.

If you replace the PFM crown with porcelain, keep in mind that you will want to change out the partnering PFM next to it or you will not have a clean match. It will possibly bug you as much as the blue tinge did and possibly more-- as the match will not be beautiful. Don't let any cosmetic dentist tell you otherwise.

10 yrs. with your PFM crown installed without any problems--- not bad--- and now the bonding agents today are made of some of the same types of material that they use on the space shuttle tiles-- the product is made by the famous company 3-M.

Let me know if you need a good cosmetic dentist in your area. We are tightly connected with many cosmetic dentists. It is the community we belong to--as we have been restoring smiles with cosmetic procedures since 1987.

Sincerely, Tina Benitez

Answer 2

The blue discoloration sounds like your crowns are Porcelain fused to metal crowns, which can cause a blueish tinged ring along the gumline where the crown touches. It's nothing bad nor dangerous, it's just because of the materials the crown is made out of.

As for the crown failing, well, crowns typically last 5-10 years, although they can last for life with proper care. Do you make regular dental visits and have they ever x-rayed your front crowns? It could be possible that there is decay there and the tooth may have broken or become unstable enough to keep it bonded.

Make a dental appointment ASAP, if the tooth is all of healthy structure underneath, they should be able to just recement the crown, but it may need a new one, so be prepared for some sort of cost.

On the bright side, many insurance companies WILL pay for anterior crowns if they are needed due to a previous crown failing.. rather than deny it because of cosmetic reasons.

ALSO, consider getting All Porcelain crowns as replacement and you will no longer have the discolored gums problem.

Answer 3

I have a crown on my front tooth also, and when I use rembrant toothpaste or whitening strips my tooth with the crown really hurts. So I think that might have something to do with it.

Answer 4

Just go to the dentist and see if the crown can be re-bonded, with out having to get a new crown.