Troubleshooting 3 Unusual Problems With Dental Crowns

27 February 2015
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

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Getting a dental crown has become one of the more common cosmetic dentist procedures. An artificial tooth cap is placed over your existing tooth to repair damage or to replace a natural crown removed during a root canal. The procedure is fairly straightforward and often offers a satisfactory result. But any medical procedure has potential complications and problems that might seem odd if you don't understand the cause. Here are three unusual problems that sometimes happen with dental crowns.

Itching Mouth or Throat

Have you started experiencing an itching sensation in your mouth and/or throat since you had a dental crown procedure? Ask your dentist what materials were in your crown. Some crowns, particularly those chosen to save the patient money, have the metal nickel as one of the materials. And some people have a nickel allergy.

You could have a nickel allergy and never know it if you've never attempted to wear nickel jewelry. But it's important to make sure that it is a metal allergy that's causing your symptoms. Food allergies or sensitivities can also cause an itching mouth or throat. Head to an allergist and ask for tests to check for a potential nickel allergy. If you are allergic to nickel, ask your dentist for a replacement crown. If it isn't nickel, check your allergy screening to see potential other causes and save yourself the dental costs.

Dark Gum Line

Have you recently noticed a dark line forming along the gum line below a tooth that has a crown? Your initial reaction might be to panic about potential periodontal disease. But there's a chance the line is happening due to a combination of the crown's structure and the recession of your gums.

Gums can recede for a variety of reasons including genetics, brushing too hard or the dreaded periodontal disease. When the gums shrink back, the base of the tooth becomes more exposed. This in turn can reveal the dark bottom piece of a crown that wasn't made tooth colored like the rest of the structure because it wasn't meant to be seen.

You can request a replacement crown that is more tooth colored throughout, but there is usually still a slight difference towards the bottom due to the materials used to held the crown onto the tooth. And replacement isn't going to help unless you also treat the cause of your receding gums.

Neighboring Tooth Pain or Damage

Do you have a natural tooth next to a crown that is suddenly experiencing problems like tooth pain or chipping? Visit your dentist as soon as possible to see if the neighboring crown was made too large.

An overly large crown can slowly wear down the neighboring teeth until those natural teeth become more prone to damage or sensitivity. Catching the problem early can often prevent serious damage, but it can lead to a vicious cycle of one crown causing the need for another one.