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Odd shaped crown

C

Crazy_Joe

Junior member
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
1
Location
New Hampshire
I've got an issue that I've been pacing around about and losing sleep over. Maybe somebody here can give me advice or has been through a similar experience.

Sorry for the long backstory, but I think it's one of the reasons I'm so anxious lately and I have to get it off my chest. I've usually been really good with dentistal procedures, but my last few experiences has cause a lot of anxiety. Loss of sleep, loss of appetite, trouble focusing on work, trouble focusing when playing with my kid.

I recently switched Dentist. I former dentist was like a chain restaurant for dentists. You'll see their commercials on tv nowadays. They often cancelled appointments, all their hygienists were underpaid and quit after COVID. My new Dentist had heard similar stories from other people. Apparently they're famous for performing procedures you don't need and upselling products. I floss, brush and do everything you're supposed to do. Still, every other time I visited, they sold me some powder injected below my gums to help with some 4mm pockets. My new dentists measured and only got 2's and 3's. Knowing where I was coming from she said "let me guess, they told you that you have periodontal disease and upsold you stuff." I was always told my teeth were straight. Then the day they get Invisalign signs on the wall, suddenly I have a cross bite and need Invisalign. In the end, I went to an Orthodontist for a second opinion and he's treating me with Invisalign.

My new Dentist said I had a cracked molar and needed a crown. I politely questioned her because of my past experience with dentists and the fact that my wife suddenly needed crowns when she switched to this Dentist. Also, a person leaving the office before me just had a crown. I would have thought my previous dentist would be able to catch what my new dentist called a giant crack. Before my appointment I thought to myself "She'll probably try to sell me a crown." Then when she said it, I got a pit in my stomach. She showed me a picture of the tooth, but it just looked like silver filling to me. I'm not saying I think she was incorrect, I've just been burned before and I was on high alert. The photo wasn't high resolution and I didn't know what I was looking at.

I got my new crown and got my Invisalign scan redone the next day. Now I'm sitting here, hating my new crown. It doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel like a real tooth. It feels like a gumdrop or that I have a piece of wax stuck in the middle of my tooth. I think the issue is my Dentist shaved off too much of the top anatomy of the crown. We did the thing where I bite down on carbon paper and she shaves it off. I think she may have shaved the tips, but not the middle.

I hate the thought of permanently loosing any real tooth material. That includes tooth enamel. I got anxious about the orthodontists filing down between my teeth to make room for movement. I get anxious when he says I may need to remove my wisdom teeth. I'm in my 40's and nobody said they were troublesome until now. Needless to say, I didn't like the idea of a crown to begin with, but now it's 10x worse because it doesn't feel like a tooth and is a constant reminder.

I called and have an appointment for them to check it out, but I don't know how it's going to go. She's probably already annoyed that I questioned her previously. She said actually said that my questioning and hesitation is making her nervous to treat me. I already questioned her once and I feel bad doing it again.

Should she have not shaved the tooth to perfect the bite since my orthodontists is taking care of that? I'm in the middle of fixing a cross bite, of course some teeth are going to touch in ways they shouldn't. I don't think that particular side was too problematic though.

I don't know what I should say to her. I don't know what options she's going to present me with. I hate making permanent medical decisions while sitting in that chair and being starred at. Will she just try to shave more off of the crown to make it feel like a tooth. Then I'll be stuck with a tooth that is too small. I can't imagine a person can shape a realistic tooth by hand as well as the factory that molds them. Will she try to remove the crown and keep it in one piece to shape it? I saw online that removing a crown can damage a tooth, especially if they try to remove it without cutting the crown.

I wish she'd just replace the whole thing and start over. With my dental luck lately, the issue will get worse and I'll need a root canal or implant.

I don't even know what to ask this forum. Maybe somebody has had this experience. Maybe this is more common than I thought and my Dentists will think nothing of it. Maybe they can shave some material out of the middle of the tooth to make it feel like it has anatomy again.
 
Sorry to hear you have had a bit of a rubbish experience. I don’t have much experience with the rest. But I must say when I first got my crown, which again had to be shaved down and then felt more flat and the wrong texture, not tooth like. It felt soo odd initially and so unlike a real tooth too. I think it just takes a while to get used to any minor change in your mouth as the tongue is so sensitive. It might start feeling more normal and you may not hate it with time. When I first had it done I hated the feel so much I thought I wouldn’t cope. But I did and it became fine. Mine was a molar and not visible so I don’t know if the issue is more visual for you?

I suppose it’s also something to discuss with your dentist though I your unhappy with what’s been done.
 
I had a similar experience as you with my first crown, at a “chain” dental place. I was in my 20’s and had never had one before, but I had broken the cusp of my back upper molar. The crown fit terribly and felt too big and bulky. The dentist shaved it down to the metal underneath in one spot and still couldn’t get it to fit with the tooth under it. Instead of redoing it, she then shaved down the cusps on my opposing molar on the bottom. I was terrified and finally just told her it felt fine to get her to stop and never went back. I did eventually get used to it and ended up having it redone many years later.
I also hate having anything taken off my teeth after that experience. It is normal for them to use carbon paper and keep working at it until it doesn’t show hard contact. Otherwise, you would get home and eventually notice the tooth was sore because it was making contact in one spot more than others. It is also normal to have to go back and have the crown adjusted a few times so don’t worry about being a nuisance. If the dentist makes you feel like one, find a new dentist!
I have three implants, and the crowns felt odd for a few weeks at first. One is on my upper front tooth (childhood injury) and I had to have it adjusted multiple times. I have learned to ask them to check it with carbon paper while I am lying down and then again when I am sitting up because it can change.
 
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