Dr. Noah's Dentistry Blog

Questions About Dentistry Answered

Snap on Smile for a Bulimic?

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I am a recovering bulimic and have hardly any enamel left on my teeth as a result. My dentist says I need porcelain veneers on all of the teeth, but that is way more than I can afford. Can you tell me if snap-on smile would work as a result? My teeth are so sensitive and hurt all the time.

Amy

Dear Amy,

image of snap-on smile

I am sorry for what you are going through, but at the same time really proud of you for taking the steps to recovery. You are in a tough spot. The most that you will get out of snap-on smile is an improvement in your appearance. Unfortunately, it will not help with the sensitivity.

What you need to help with that are dental crowns. I am not sure why your dentist suggested porcelain veneers. When done correctly they can provide you with a beautiful smile, but they only cover the front of your teeth. It is the back of your teeth that takes the brunt of the damage from bulimia. Porcelain veneers will be useless to you in this case.

What you need is an artistic dentist who can provide you with beautiful dental crowns. This is still expensive. However, if you call around you will likely be able to find a dentist sympathetic to your situation who will do this is stages for you. He or she can triage the teeth and decide which are more urgent to get crowned and then work from there. Look for someone who advertises as an affordable dentist. They tend to be very compassionate toward people in your situation.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Is Snap-On Smile A Good Option For My 8-Year-Old Son?

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My name is Danielle, and I have an 8-year-old son that severely chipped his front tooth. The dentist filled it in but within a week; it had broken off. Thankfully, there is no damage to his roots and he has not been in any pain. I’m just wondering if a snap-on smile would work for an 8-year-old? When he is old enough, we would have the tooth capped off.

-Danielle from California

 

Danielle,

Although I speak highly of the Snap-On-Smile, I wouldn’t recommend this option for your son. If you went with the Snap-On Smile, his tooth would remain broken, and there are ways to fix it. For example, his tooth could be fixed with composite bonding or porcelain, and it would stay fixed as long as it’s done right and doesn’t get in the way of his bite.

The repair that was done on your son’s tooth didn’t break off because of his age; it was because it got in the way of his bite. Meaning it would still break off when he gets older. An excellent cosmetic dentist can repair his tooth correctly. I wouldn’t suggest going to a pediatric dentist for this.

He could potentially have these problems if you went with a Snap-On Smile:

  • It could be bulky.
  • Chances are, being an eight-year-old boy, he will misplace it or lose it.
  • Since he still has some baby teeth and permanent teeth, the Snap-On Smile fit is going to change.

I strongly believe that having these types of procedures done by an expert cosmetic dentist is extremely important. Your son’s tooth breaking off is a perfect example of why it’s important to go to someone who is an expert and can do it right the first time.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Yellowing Crowns

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I’ve had my dental crowns for about 7 months. They’ve really begun to turn yellow, which surprises me. My dentist told me they’d be stain resistant. I do drink coffee every morning, but I brush my teeth twice a day so that shouldn’t be too bad. Do you know what’s going on?

Alice

Dear Alice,

porcelain crown being placed on prepared tooth

This shouldn’t be happening to your crowns, if indeed that’s what your dentist gave you. There have been tales of dentists saying they gave porcelain crowns or porcelain veneers but actually gave them a composite resin.

There are some other issues which could be causing this as well. Seven months means you’ve had enough time for another checkup and cleaning. This is making me think your hygienist could have done something to them unknowingly.

Sometimes a hygienist doesn’t realize that certain tools and materials she uses can damage the glaze on porcelain. If your hygienist used something like a power prophy jet in your cleaning or even an acidulated fluoride it can remove or etch the surface of your porcelain crowns, causing them to pick up stains.

Repairing Stained Porcelain Crowns

You cannot use teeth whitening to repair the stains. Unfortunately, you’ll have to have these replaced. I’m going to suggest you give your dentist a chance to make this right. If he’s unwilling, you’ll have to get tough.

You can get a second opinion from another dentist about what happened to these crowns. I’m going to suggest you don’t tell the second dentist who did the work. Just tell him you want his unbiased opinion. There is always a chance they are friends and he’d feel disloyal saying his friend made a mistake.

Sometimes, when a dentist isn’t willing to listen to a patient, but will not want to look bad in front of a peer. That’s unfortunate but it does happen.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Noah Ryan.

Gums Over Crowns Turning Gray

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I have two crowns on my front teeth. They’ve never looked quite natural, but now I’m worried there’s something seriously wrong. The gums above the crowns have developed a dark gray line. Is there something dangerous going on?

Gina

Dear Gina,

all porcelain crowns versus metal based crowns

First, let me reassure you. There is nothing dangerous going on. What you’re dealing with is a cosmetic issue as a result of the type of crown you received. It sounds to me like you were given a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown. These metal-based crowns are more opaque than the all-porcelain crowns because they need the added opaqueness to cover the metal base. The gray line your seeing is also a result of that type of crown. It happens to all metal-based crowns.

The only solution is to replace them. I wouldn’t go to the same dentist. Truthfully, I’m surprised your dentist placed those on your front teeth. For aesthetic reasons, a responsible dentist would only place all-porcelain crowns on your front teeth. These are much more natural looking as you can see from the comparison images above.

Considerations with Your Dental Crown

Check the work of the dentist you’re considering before going through with the procedure. You want your crowns to look natural and seeing examples of work the dentist has done in the past will let you know if he or she is capable of providing that.

Once the crowns are made, the color is permanent. If you are interested in having your teeth whitened, you’ll want to do it before you replace your dental crowns. That way, when the crowns are made they will match the color you’d want them to be permanently.

This blog is brought to you by Glenpool Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Does an Open Bite REALLY Have to be Fixed?

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My dentist wants me to get braces. He insists my open bite needs to be fixed. There’s nothing really wrong with my teeth except for that. Is it really necessary to fix it? I suspect it’s either just for cosmetic reasons or to make my dentist a load of money. Either way, I’m not interested. So, give me a real reason.

Mike A.

Dear Mike,

Tulsa Orthodontist

An open bite actually would benefit from being fixed, and for more than cosmetic reasons. While it does have a negative impact on the appearance of your smile, it’s actually the negative impact on your jaw joints and teeth that are the real concern.

How Do Open Bites Affect Your Body?

Your upper teeth are meant to go a bit forward of your lower teeth. An open bite prevents that putting pressure in unnatural places.

TMJ PROBLEMS
The first obvious problem is your jaw joints. Your temporomandibular joints get knocked about and ground down. This will lead to TMJ disorder. TMJ can be mild to so serious that your jaw locks up and you’re unable to close it or eat. Even the mild cases generally cause migraines, which can be debilitating in they’re own right.

Tooth Damage
Your molars especially will become ground down or even chipped or cracked. In most cases, you’ll end up needing dental crowns. This is costly and an unnecessary loss of otherwise healthy teeth.

Orthodontic Solutions to an Open Bite

Invisible Orthodontics with Invisalign

The most severe open bites require surgery to repair. But, if your dentist is suggesting orthodontics then you’re not in that situation. That’s good news because it means it can be solved with orthodontics. There are two routes to choose from:

  • Traditional braces. These are the usual metal brackets and wires you likely think of when you hear the braces. These can be placed by any orthodontist and a few dentists. Dr. Noah’s practice is one of those dentists.
  • Invisalign. These days there is another option. Invisalign can be useful in solving this problem without anyone knowing you’re even wearing them. Better still is almost any dentist can place them.

Bottom line, your dentist is looking out for your best interest and isn’t just trying to make a quick buck.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Covering a dark line at the gumline

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I have two porcelain crowns done. They are on my top front teeth. They’re starting to get a dark line at the gumline, which is a little embarrassing and frustrating. I wondered if Lumineers would fix this?

Ammon M. from Idaho Falls

Ammon,

Lumineers are a brand of porcelain veneers. They are designed to to re-design your smile. However, the problem you are having isn’t with your smile. Instead it is with the type of dental crown you’ve gotten. The type of crowns that develop a dark line at the gum line are the porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. I’m a little surprised he or she put those on front teeth, because they are known to develop that dark line. Plus, they have to be made more opaque to cover the metal base.

The only way to get rid of that dark line is for you to have your crowns replaced. This time, you’ll want to make sure your dentist gives you all-porcelain crowns. These will give you a more natural looking smile, without the opaqueness of the other type of dental crowns, plus there is never a dark line at the gumline.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Sensitive crowns

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I had six crowns put on last week. two of them are dryving me crazy!!! Theyre sensitive to everything. hot cold you name it. My dentist says to be patient, but I just think maybe he did something wrong. I got a second opinion. this doc thought “maybe” some of the dentin (?) was exposed. What do I do!!

Brent W. from Little Rock

Brent,

It is not uncommon to have sensitivity after having crowns placed. Sometimes it takes several weeks to get them to settle down. If the dentist wasn’t sure about the dentin, then I am prone to think there wasn’t an obvious problem. My suggestion would be to give it a few more weeks. However, the pain should be getting better, not worse. If things worsen, I would have your dentist double check to see why these two teeth aren’t healing. You may end up needing a root canal treatment.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Dealing with acid reflux

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I have very bad acid reflux. Recently, it has caused sensitivity in my back fillings. Is there anything I can do about that?

Robbie B.- San Antonio, TX

Robbie,

As the name implies, acid reflux is very acidic which is damaging to the enamel on your teeth. I suspect it is your teeth that are sensitive, not your fillings. The ideal solution is to deal with the acid reflux, but if that is going to take a while you may want to get porcelain crowns on your back teeth to help protect them. This is not a solution because the acid will attack the thin strip of tooth that the crown doesn’t cover. In the meantime, make sure that every time you have a reflux episode, to brush your teeth immediately.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

No crowns unless I get braces?

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Have you ever heard of a dentist refusing to place crowns without having braces done? Here’s what is going on. I went into my dentist today to to talk to him about replacing my old crowns that are on my front teeth. It has been about 15 years or so since they were originally put on and he told me that I need to have full orthodontic braces first. Pretty much I was told that I won’t be able to get new crowns if I don’t do the braces first. The problem is that I cannot afford to have braces and all I really want is to have the crowns replaced. I would consider his other recommendations at a later time, just not right now. I really don’t think my front teeth are that crooked, so I don’t know what to do. Can you provide any insight?

– Tom from Missouri

Tom,

It is not a good sign when a dentist gives you an ultimatum or places restrictions on what treatment they will provide. It sounds like he is only willing to do the perfect scenario and doesn’t seem to understand your budget concerns. Although a treatment may not always be ideal, doing something is most likely better than nothing if you can afford it.

It is possible to have the crowns fixed without having to do the braces. You could wait until you can afford the orthodontics or you could bypass it altogether if you choose.

Take a look around to see if you can find a dentist that is a bit more understanding about your budgetary constraints and will work with you.

For your front teeth it would be best to have all-porcelain crowns done. This is because if you have porcelain fused to metal crowns, then you run the risk of them ending up looking fake. Also, you may have a dark line that is visible along your gum line. But make sure that the dentist you choose is experienced and seems comfortable doing porcelain crowns. You don’t want to push a dentist out of their comfort zone because you may not end up with the results you want.

I hope this information is helpful to you.

This post is sponsored by Tulsa dentist Region Dental.

Related link: Invisalign