I had a root canal done on a tooth, but the dentist has had a hard time keeping the bonding together. There really isn’t a lot of structure to bond it to so I don’t know how much hope I have of this staying secure. Have you encountered this?
Connie
Dear Connie,
With a root canal treatment, there can often not be enough tooth structure left for the bonding to work without additional preparation to the tooth. Your dentist may need to do some additional tooth preparation which would require replacing the dental crowns.
What I’m going to suggest is for him to cement a flexible fiberglass post into the canal. Then, he’ll need to build up the tooth to normal preparation levels, as seen in the picture above, using a composite resin material. From there, the crown will stay secure.
In order for this to work there has to be some tooth structure left. If the tooth is lost at the gumline there is no way to get a dental crown to bond to it.
Replacing a Tooth When You Can’t Get a Crown
There are occasions when you can’t get a crown. In that case, you have several replacement options. If any of the adjacent teeth need crowns, it would make sense to get a dental bridge. This suspends a false tooth between two crowns.
If you don’t need crowns, the top of the line tooth replacement is a dental implant. These use a prosthetic tooth root and then places a dental crown on top. It’s like having a healthy natural tooth again.
If those are too expensive, you can always temporarily get a removable partial denture until you’re able to get a better replacement option.
Cosmetic Tip with Dental Crowns
If you ever considered getting your teeth whitened, the time to do it would be before your dental crown. This way the crown can be made to match your new color. You can whiten later, but the crown won’t whiten with the natural teeth. You’ll have to replace it.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.