I have a tooth which has cracked and my dentist wants me to get a CEREC Crown. The only thing I’m worried about is I grind my teeth at night. How do crowns hold up with teeth grinding?
Cory S.
Dear Cory,
CEREC Restorations
CEREC crowns are a great solution when you need a dental crown, but they won’t hold up long under the stress of tooth grinding. It’s not because there’s anything defective in the crowns themselves. Your normal teeth aren’t going to hold up with grinding either. In fact, that is likely why your tooth cracked to begin with.
Your dentist should have warned you about this. I’m concerned this didn’t happen. In fact, it puts you at risk not just of needing a mouth full of crowns, but of losing your teeth too.
A grinding habit can loosen your teeth to the point they even come out. Then, you’re not just looking at crowns but possibly a dental implant as well.
This can be solved simply. All your dentist has to do is fit you with a mouth guard designed to protect your teeth from grinding. It won’t cost that much and certainly will cost you significantly less than replacing your teeth from cracks or extractions.
Two things to be aware of if your crown is in a visible place. The color the crown is made with is permanent and cannot be whitened. If you’ll eventually want whiter teeth, now is the time to whiten them so the crown can be made to match your new white color.
Secondly, if it’s a very front tooth, you may consider getting a traditional porcelain crown. CEREC crowns, while beautiful and convenient are milled out of a single block of porcelain which makes the color rather flat. An artistic cosmetic dentist will create the crown for a front tooth out of different porcelain to give the tooth the same subtle variations you find in a natural tooth.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.