Monthly Archives: April 2014

Dental Emergency

Should I have brought my son in?

Yesterday my son got kicked in the mouth at school. It knocked out one of his teeth.  The school didn’t tell me about it until later, which really angered me.  I would have wanted to come up and check on him.  By the time I found out about it, he was fine, so I decided just to let it alone.  Now I’m sitting at home wondering if I should have brought my son in to the dentist to have him checked out?  Did I do the wrong thing?

Yvette L.- Seattle

Yvette,

I am assuming were talking about a baby tooth and not an adult tooth, right?  If it is a baby tooth and there doesn’t seem to be any trauma, then you’re probably fine.  It wouldn’t hurt to get him looked at, but it is certainly not a dental emergency. Little children’s teeth don’t really have roots, so there isn’t generally trauma when one gets banged out prematurely.

If it was an adult tooth, then he would have needed to be seen right away to have any chance of saving the tooth.  Those roots go deep. You would have wanted to keep it moist by putting it in a glass of milk or if that isn’t available, you could put it in your mouth by your cheek. 

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

CEREC crowns

Do CEREC crowns have to be a certain color?

I got a CEREC crown a few weeks ago. I was very excited about the idea of getting it all done in one appointment. However, I was quite disappointed in the color. It doesn’t match my teeth very well at all with my natural teeth. My dentist says that is what they have to look like. That doesn’t seem right to me. In fact, it seems like a technological step back. Is he correct?

Illyia K- Santa Clarita, CA

Illyia,

Your intuition is correct. CEREC technology can make any color you want. No one would put up with crowns that don’t match, no matter how fast it could be made. The technology would be uselessEither your dentist is lying or incompetent.  It’s possible he doesn’t know much about color matching and he just did the best he could.

My suggestion is that you ask him for a refund and go to another dentist to have your crown done.  Even with advanced technology you have to have a dentist that is skilled in cosmetic dentistry. A CEREC crown will look gorgeous if it is done correctly. The porcelain matches the natural translucency of your teeth.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.