Visit Our Dental Office in Redwood City If Your Crown Becomes Damaged

As a dental office in Redwood City, we treat patients who are struggling with a variety of oral health issues. In many cases, we use dental crowns to restore a severely damaged tooth or a tooth that has had a root canal. For example, if a tooth is cracked, chipped, or eroded, we can place a dental crown around it to protect the tooth. The dental crown will help the tooth become fully functional again and look perfectly natural. While this is a common procedure, many patients are unaware that a crown is not infallible. It can last for 15 years or more, but you have to take good care of it. If you do not brush and floss regularly or do not seek preventative dental care, the tooth underneath your crown will be at risk for experiencing decay. Additionally, it is possible to damage a crown by eating ice, chewing pencils, playing sports, or being in an accident. With that in mind, we recommend that you take care to ensure your crowns are safe.

Signs to watch for:

There are a few signs you can watch for that a crown is damaged. Start by running your tongue along your teeth to see if there are any rough edges. If there are, you might have a chipped tooth. You should also watch to see if you have any crowns that are loose. If you do, we recommend seeking treatment immediately since a loose crown can fall off at night and be swallowed.

Steps we will take:

When you visit our dental office, we will begin by conducting a visual examination of your teeth so we can determine the source of the problem. Next, we will take x-rays. This is essential because a dental crown surrounds a tooth like a cap, and an x-ray allows us to determine if there is an issue with the tooth itself.
When it comes to treating your tooth, we will need to determine if the crown itself is damaged or if the tooth underneath is also damaged or infected. If the problem is only with the crown, we might be able to smooth it out and apply a bonding material to it. If this works for restoring it, the process can be completed in one sitting. If, however, the crown is severely damaged, we might need to remove and replace it. This is a two-step process since the dental lab will need to create a new crown. Also, if the tooth underneath is infected or damaged, the crown will need to be removed so we can access it. We will remove the infected portion of the tooth before placing a new crown around it. This too will require multiple visits to our dental office. In rare cases, the tooth may be too damaged to save. If so, we can replace it with a dental bridge or dental implant.

Cosmetic Dentistry  >  Veneers Dentist

Schedule Your Smile Makeover and Retire in Redwood City With a Beautiful Smile

There is no greater time for a smile makeover than the present.  Most people work hard their entire life and due to the demands of work, put off important things like dental care.  Understanding how critical it is to stay in excellent oral health, we always recommend seeking treatment right away.  If, however, you simply can not find the time, retirement can be as good a time as ever. Remember that it is never too late to have the smile that you want.

If you want to improve your smile, there are multiple ways to do so.  As such, we recommend that you schedule a consultation to discuss what you like and dislike about your smile. We will then work with you to create a plan that addresses the various items that you do not enjoy.  Completing a full makeover can take time, so this is often a case of determining what the priorities are.

One of the first things that we will start with is teeth whitening.  This is a common solution for all types of cosmetic dental work and especially in a smile makeover.  The easiest and fastest way to improve your smile is with a whitening treatment.  When completed in our Redwood City office, teeth can get up to eight shades whiter. This single step can make such a dramatic difference that you may not need as many procedures as you had thought.  Additionally, we recommend having teeth whitened first because solutions like dental veneers will be matched to the shade of the teeth they will be next to.  If your natural teeth are yellow, they will be created in a yellow shade as well.  With this in mind, timing is important.

If you don't like the size of your teeth, have gaps in between them, dark stains, or slightly crooked teeth, we can address all of this through cosmetic dentistry.  One of the ways that we do so is with dental veneers.  A veneer is a thin ceramic shell that sits on top of the natural tooth.  It essentially replaces the enamel on your teeth and is so thin that it will blend in, looking completely natural.  The difference is that your smile can look beautiful because all of your imperfections will go away.  If you have damaged that is being corrected, or your teeth are sensitive due to erosion, a ceramic dental crown will be a better solution.  It can accomplish the same things, but it is a cap that surrounds your tooth entirely, making it possible to solve both health and cosmetic issues at the same time.
When completing your smile makeover, if you have lost a tooth or two, we will incorporate replacing them with our plan.  We can do so using dental bridges or dental implants.  Both are a viable solution and will look natural.  The main difference is that an implant is more of a permanent solution that will also strengthen your jawbone - something that may be beneficial in your golden years.  We do want to note, however, that if you have lost a tooth the time is of the essence for replacing it in order to prevent bone loss.  With this in mind, making time for dental care should be a top priority.

If you are considering cosmetic dentistry, do not wait until retiremtent and seek treatment today. To learn more or to discuss your options, call and schedule your consultation.

Dental Implants  >  Veneers Dentist