Last Summer, I broke a tooth. At the gum line. #4 tooth. #1 (wisdom tooth) was removed by Navy dentists many moons ago. I lost #3 to infection and #2 to an unrepairable impacted root over the last couple of years.

Losing #4 did not seem like an option, so I consented to a root canal and a crown.

In the week or 10 days that the temporary crown was on, it would NOT stay in place. The dentist blamed it on the temporary cement. I had suspicions that the minimal stub and lack of contact area were contributing, but hey, he's the dentist, right?

Permanent crown went on late last Summer and has been fine. Up until yesterday. Wasn't eating anything stupid like caramel or hard candy and BOOP! off it came.

Gah.

So I'll have them glue it back on tomorrow and if the damn thing comes off again, I'll have 'em pave over the stub and buy a blender and some straws.

Bummer.

I've had 2-3 teeth break off or crack, but never down near the gum line.

I hadn't been to dentist for several years. I sort of got pissed off at the profession in general after a new back molar crown partially broke maybe 6 months in. I could still chew and not really notice anything different, so I said F 'em.

Then, we moved from VA to NC, and this past Xmas I was eating and bit on something hard. Hmmmm. I felt around and everything was still there. No problem. Later that evening I was eating pistachios and that's when the lower front incisor broke or chipped off. So, $1,700 later . . .

I ended up with 3 appointments - 1st for the temporary crown, then a checkup and cleaning, and then the crown install. At least at the checkup they didn't find anything else and said my teeth looked good and were pretty clean (seeing as how it was 4 years or so since my last checkup & industrial cleaning).

For now I'll go back on the regular 6-month checkup cycle (covered by insurance).

Sometimes the best solution is to have an extraction and then an implant. A friend of mine told me that instead of paying the two grand for root canal and crown he put the money towards a permanent replacement. It is not cheap but anything beats dentures or a blender. At this point just get it glued back on. BTW consider yourself lucky you did not swallow it. I think you know what happens then over the next few days.

Paul, my girlfriend is a dentist and she said it sounds like you are putting too much stress on #4. If you've lost #1, 2, & 3, you have lost all three molars in that quadrant. #4 is a premolar, and is not meant to take on that much force.

Did your dentist recommend implants? Losing a whole quadrant of molars will negatively affect the rest of your teeth.

quote:

Originally posted by amsmith281:
Paul, my girlfriend is a dentist and she said it sounds like you are putting too much stress on #4. If you've lost #1, 2, & 3, you have lost all three molars in that quadrant. #4 is a premolar, and is not meant to take on that much force.

Did your dentist recommend implants? Losing a whole quadrant of molars will negatively affect the rest of your teeth.

1. I had the crown re-cemented yesterday.

2. The stress theory makes perfect sense to me and is why I opted to have #4 repaired rather than extracted. The domino theory, ya know.

3. Dentist said it MAY have been that a little moisture intruded during the initial bonding and caused the bond to fail.

4. He said if it fails again, he can do a surgical procedure to expose a little more of the remaining root for more bonding surface.

5. An implant will be discussed as well. When #3 was extracted, he (as I understand it) put a bit of bone chip or something in the jaw with an eye toward an implant later as an anchor for a partial. Financially, I hope it doesn't come to that as I have no dental insurance.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
Last Summer, I broke a tooth. At the gum line. #4 tooth. #1 (wisdom tooth) was removed by Navy dentists many moons ago. I lost #3 to infection and #2 to an unrepairable impacted root over the last couple of years.

Losing #4 did not seem like an option, so I consented to a root canal and a crown.

In the week or 10 days that the temporary crown was on, it would NOT stay in place. The dentist blamed it on the temporary cement. I had suspicions that the minimal stub and lack of contact area were contributing, but hey, he's the dentist, right?

Permanent crown went on late last Summer and has been fine. Up until yesterday. Wasn't eating anything stupid like caramel or hard candy and BOOP! off it came.

Gah.

So I'll have them glue it back on tomorrow and if the damn thing comes off again, I'll have 'em pave over the stub and buy a blender and some straws.

I would suggest you find a different Dentist, because it's rather obvious your current one doesn't know what he is doing.

Typically crowns are attached to a permanent gold stud implanted in to the remaining tooth and what is above the gum line is typically about 3/4 the height of the crown. That is NOT a "stub" it's actually better described as a Post or even a Fence Post. Done properly a crown won't ever work loose and when it needs to be replaced after 15 or 20 years the dentist and sometimes work it loose with a good bit of effort or he has to actually cut the crown carefully so that he can then split it away from the post. BTW, I've had to have worn out crowns replaced so I have real world experience with how long they can last and how much work it takes to remove a properly set crown.