I just had a dental crown placed on a severely damaged tooth. It hasn’t felt right since I got it a week ago. I think it’s too big and bumping into the opposing tooth when I bite down. My dentist said it is just because I’m not used to a crown and to give it time. If I’m not used to it by the time the quarantine is up he’ll take another look. Is this normal?
Selwyn
Dear Selwyn,
I would laugh at your dentist’s comment that it’s just because you haven’t had a crown before and you’ll get used to it, if it weren’t such a dangerous attitude. The way your teeth should come together is very specific and in dental circles is known as occlusion. The best dentists, who want to seriously treat TMJ Disorder or do things like a full-mouth reconstruction, will attend post-doctoral schools to learn the skills they need to properly treat their patients in every aspect. Unfortunately, some bread and butter dentists think they’re only going to do single crowns and therefore don’t bother to get the extra training.
In general, they get by. They will have the odd patient here and there, like you, who will complain about something feeling off. But, the dentist tells them they’ll adjust and either they do or they’re too embarrassed to keep complaining.
He said you’re not used to having a crown. The truth is you shouldn’t notice a difference. It should fit exactly like your natural tooth. The fact that you’re not used to it means he didn’t fit it properly.
To me, it doesn’t even sound like he took the very basic step of using bite registration paper. He should have asked you to bite down on this paper which would show were the bite is not coming together properly. Then the dentist can carefully adjust that area. He hasn’t even bothered doing that.
You can continue this dentist, but I think you can do better. Plus, if you don’t get this adjusted, you can end up with bone loss or TMJ Disorder. This requires attention, even during COVID-19.
My suggestion is you find a dentist who has studied at one of the following post-doctoral institutes:
- Texas Center for Occlusal Studies
- The Pankey Institute
- The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies
- The Dawson Academy
Have them fix the crown.
This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.