I have three dental crowns for a little over ten years. They’ve all looked great even though one of them has always had a rough spot. You couldn’t tell by looking, though. I only knew about it from when my tongue ran across it. The rough spot has started getting darker. Does this mean it’s failing? I’m pretty diligent about my oral hygiene. Do I need to see an emergency dentist?
Dania F. – New Mexico
Dania,
This need to be looked at, but it’s not a dental emergency. It sounds like the crown is changing. That could be a sign it’s cracked, which would explain the darkness. If that’s the case it will eventually break. That will require an emergency dentist.
When you see your dentist, have him look at all the crowns. You’ve had them for ten years. It may be getting close to time for them to be replaced. If so, it will make sense to do them all at once so you’re not making several trips to the dentist. But, that’s up to you, not a necessity.
However, if the dentist tells you to replace them all so they’ll match, that’s a bad sign. It means he has trouble making things look natural and the same without multiples. A skilled cosmetic dentist can match just one crown. Also, for aesthetic purposes, all porcelain crowns will give a more beautiful, natural result.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. David Potts.