zirconia crowns Archives - Susan M. Dennis, D.D.S

Dentist Doesn’t Know What Went Wrong with My Bite

Posted on July 1, 2023 by writeradmin.

I had ten zirconia crowns placed, but somehow the placement threw off my bite. My dentist has been burring down the crowns in order to adjust my bite. Not only is that not working, but ever since the burring started, I’ve had hives in my mouth. The dentist can’t figure out why and still hasn’t been able to adjust my bite into proper occlusion. Is it possible the dust from the burring caused a reaction. I don’t know what to do at this point. Any suggestions?

Carol

Dear Carol,

Man grabbing his jaw in pain.

I’ll start with the hives. While it is always possible you developed a reaction to the zirconia, I would think it would have cleared up once the dust was out of your system. There are also antihistimines that help deal with the hives. If none of those worked, then it is possible you are dealing with something known as Burning Mouth Syndrome. This can result from a stressful dental appointment. Zirconia is a hard material. I imagine the appointment for grinding those down was more than just a little stressful.

There is the additional problem here of your dentist still not getting the occlusion correct for your bite. If this isn’t fixed soon, you could develop serious TMJ problems. I am going to recommend you get a second opinion by a TMJ Dentist. Bear in mind that TMJ is not a recognized specialty. That being said, there are dentists who do a lot of post-doctoral training in that field. That is who you need to see for your second opinion.

There are many post-doctoral programs for TMJ Training. Four of the best are:

The L.D. Pankey Institute in Florida
The Dawson Academy in Florida
Spear Education in Arizona
The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies in Nevada

You want a dentist who has studied with at least one of these organizations. They will have the qualifications to examine your bite with these crowns and tell you what needs to be done to reach proper occlusion and finally get you out of pain.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Holistic Dentist Problem

Posted on May 5, 2023 by writeradmin.

I wanted to replace my metal based crown with an all porcelain one, but my dentist said it wasn’t a good idea because the porcelain isn’t strong enough for back teeth. I decided to get a second opinion from a holistic dentist and she said it could be done. I was excited to hear that and gave the okay. She wanted to use a new technology called CEREC which would allow me to get the permanent crown at the same appointment. Again, I was excited and starting to feel really great about this holistic dentist thing. My first hint something could be off was when she bonded the crown in without trying it on first. It felt off, but she said I’d get used to it. I didn’t so I went back and told her it hurt every time I bite down and that my teeth are not meeting together. She had her assistant grind down the crown a bit. That didn’t help. I decided to get a second opinion on the crown because I am losing faith in this dentist. The second dentist looked at the crowns and said it is both too high and not wide enough for my bite. Is the problem here the fact that I went to a holistic dentist or is the CEREC technology not that great?

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

In this case, the problem is with this particular holistic dentist. Like any professional some dentists are better than others. You just happened to hit a dud. If going to a holistic dentist is important to you, don’t give up! There are many out there who do a great job with their work.

Using the CEREC machine usually results in much more accurately fitting dental crowns because they are milled by a computer. However, you may remember the old saying, “Garbage in – Garbage out”. This is still true. A computer will only be as accurate as the information they are fed. It sounds like because you’d already had a dental crown placed and your dentist couldn’t just image the tooth into the program, that she did not know how to adequately convey the right inputs.

When a crown is fitted properly, it should not be noticeable at all. I am glad you stuck to your guns and found someone who recognized the problem.

I wanted to address something your first (original) dentist said. While it is true that all-porcelain crowns are not as strong on back teeth as their metal-based counterparts, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get a metal free dental crown on a back tooth. Zirconia crowns are metal free and more than strong enough to withstand the biting forces of back teeth.

This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Allergies to the Metal in Dental Work

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I had two fillings and one restoration placed in my mouth. This was the first time I’ve had any substantial dental work done. My teeth had always been fine until recently. My husband lost his job and the dental insurance that went with it, so I put off going to the dentist for a couple of years until we were back on our feet. I had no idea how much those cleanings and checkups were helping. Since getting the restorations, I’ve been having sores in my mouth and feeling off-kilter. My dentist didn’t feel it was the dental work, so I finally went to a medical doctor. He sent me for an allergy workup and it turns out I’m allergic to nickel, cobalt, and mercury. I’m sure these things are in my dental work. The fillings are silver, so those may be the big culprit. My dentist assures me he’s never encountered a patient who has had problems from their dental work and still believes it is unrelated. Where do I go from here?

Maya

Dear Maya,

I am constantly flabbergasted with dentists who are in denial about allergies. Your dentist is even ignoring the results of the medical tests you’ve had done. Yes, being exposed to materials you are allergic to can cause you to feel poorly and have reactions such as the sores you are experiencing. That seems like a no-brainer to me. I’m going to be blunt and say this is not the best dentist for you.

In your place, I’d look for a metal-free dentist. They will have the materials on hand you need to get restorations that won’t cause a reaction, such as a zirconia bridge or crown.

Your silver / amalgam fillings are going to be a bigger deal. You need a dentist who knows how to remove the amalgam fillings while minimizing the risk to you for swallowing or inhaling any mercury or mercury vapors. There are special materials which can be used such as a stopper dam, and water to keep the mercury from melting.

My suggestion is to look for a mercury-free dentist or a biological dentist. Most, if not all of them are metal-free. Even if they’re not metal-free, a biological dentist will bend over backward to work within your medical requirements.

This blog is brought to you by Holistic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis of Portage, MI.