I had dental bonding done years ago. They aged well, but it had been around 20 years and they started to yellow and pick up stains. My dentist suggested replacing the bonded teeth with crowns. I did that though I wish I could have just replaced the bonding. It’s been a few years and the teeth which were crowned and the ones which were, have serious inflammation. My dentist has done everything she knows to do but can’t figure out what the problem is. The inflammation is only on crowned teeth, even though they’re not all adjacent to one another. Now she wants to do gum surgery. I’m hesitant about the idea of having surgery when she’s not sure what the problem is. A band-aid doesn’t fix a broken bone. Any advice?
Carolyn
Dear Carolyn,
My first bit of advice would be for you to run away from this dentist as quickly as you possibly can. First, you could have replaced your dental bonding. I have no idea why she didn’t, unless you had serious decay you didn’t mention. Without that, she used an unnecessarily aggressive treatment. She’s ground down healthy tooth structure and left you with always having to have crowns on those teeth.
I also don’t know why she can’t figure out what’s wrong with your gums. There are definitive reasons why you could have inflammation around your crowns. She should have known them. I’m glad you had the wisdom to have some hesitation with letting her perform surgery.
Reasons for Gum Inflammation
- 1. Leftover cement around the crowns when they were bonded.
- 2. Improper fit of your crowns.
- 3. Crowns go too deeply under your gumline.
- 4. An allergic reaction to the metal in the base of the crowns.
- 5. Gum disease.
The first three would have been almost immediately noticeable. Often, an allergic reaction is immediate as well. However, they can also develop over time. Gum disease also develops over time. It can begin with your crowned teeth if you’re having trouble getting those areas clean. Some people find they need a water pick to help them truly clean around crowned teeth.
I absolutely wouldn’t let this dentist do gum surgery on you. She has no idea what she’s doing. It may come to needing gum surgery, but it may also be solved by seeing a periodontist. I would say that is your first course of action. They specialize in dealing with gum problems.
This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.
