I just got my first crown so I am not sure if my expectations are too high. It feels like my opposing teeth are banging into it too quickly, sort of like it needs more indentations to fit the other molars in with it. However, I don’t know if drilling into it in order to make those would damage it. My dentist says I am just not used to dental crowns and I need to give it time. It’s been a little over three weeks. If he is right, how long do I need to give it?
Caroline
Dear Caroline,
When a crown is properly placed, then you will not notice it at all. It should feel just like your natural tooth did before it had whatever issue caused the need for the dental crown to begin with. Your dentist’s statement that you will get used to it if you give it time is very telling to me. He’s hoping you will give up and just put up with how it feels. Do not do this. If this crown is not properly placed, it can throw off your entire bite. When that happens, you will have jaw pain, headaches, and even develop a more serious TMJ Disorder.
Occlusion between upper and lower teeth is an entire field of study and not enough dentists invest in it. It’s very likely that your dentist isn’t sure how to fix this. I’m going on the assumption that he has already had you bite down on some registration paper to see if your bite is too high. If he’s already done that step than the changes that need to be made are more subtle and he is out of his depth.
You have a few options here. You can first wait a little longer to see if your bite naturally adjusts to the crown. If it doesn’t do that or you are in pain and don’t want to wait any longer you could ask for a refund and then go to a dentist with occlusal training to have it done correctly.
If he is unwilling to give you a refund, then what you need to do is get a second opinion on the crown from a qualified dentist. Look for someone with training in one of the following places:
- Texas Center for Occlusal Studies
- The Pankey Institute
- The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies
- The Dawson Academy
- Spear Education
When you get that second opinion, make sure it is a blind opinion. What I mean by that is for you not to tell the second dentist who the first dentist is. Just ask him to look at your dental crown and tell him the pain you are experiencing. If he asks who the dentist is before giving his diagnosis, then simply be honest with him that you want an unbiased opinion. He if tells you the crown needs to be replaced, then you can tell him the dentist and his opinion can help you get that refund you need to get this repaired properly.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.