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I recently needed to have a crown replaced on an upper molar. I wanted it done as fast as possible due to an upcoming travel engagement. My dentist sent me to a friend of his that has a CEREC machine so I could have it done in one day. The whole process has been a minor disaster. The crown was made so big I felt like someone had shoved a wad of hardened gauze into my mouth. Plus, it was hitting my other teeth too soon, which really hurt. It was also causing me to bite my tongue, especially in my sleep. She did file it down, but it is still having the same problem. Do I ask her to file it again or is there a different procedure I should be doing? I spent my trip in pain and had to wait to deal with it further when I returned. Just as an FYI, I have three other crowns, so it is not a matter of me just not knowing what a crown feels like.
Kevin
Dear Kevin,
I am sorry you had to deal with this during your trip. You need to insist this crown feel right to you. In fact, once it is done correctly, you shouldn’t feel it at all. Persistent tongue biting can lead to the development of a tumor. CEREC crowns normally fit even better than traditional crowns because of the increase in precision with them being designed and milled by a computer.
In general, with a CEREC machine, the software will design your crown around the shape of the tooth you are replacing. You already had a crown and were replacing it. As a result, there wasn’t really a tooth for it to use for the design. However, there is a way around that. The software makes it fairly easy to shape and design the crown using the images available. It sounds like the dentist you were sent to is not familiar with how to use the software.
Do not allow her to keep grinding these down. Instead, she needs to start over and do this from scratch. Don’t let her try to reshape the crown while it is in your mouth if she suggests that. It is nearly impossible and would take someone with extraordinary skill. I would not put this dentist in that category. If she gives you a hard time about starting over (at her cost), talk to the dentist who referred you. They had some responsibility in making sure the dentist they were sending you to truly knew what they were doing. At the very least, he can help you get a refund and you can either get a traditional crown now that your trip is over or can get a CEREC crown done by a dentist who knows what they’re doing.
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