Hi there,

I have had porcelain crowns for ages, and one of them has always had a horizontal line towards the bottom. It’s a tiny flaw, and not easily noticeable. However, after biting something hard, I can see the line much more clearly. I can also feel the line with my tongue, too. I am scared I will lose the tooth altogether. Does this fracture warrant a trip to the emergency dentist? Or can should I wait until I can see my cosmetic dentist again?

Willem, from Ballard, Utah

 

Hi Willem,

While you should see a cosmetic dentist as soon as possible to replace the crown, you do not have to see an emergency dentist. This may be a cosmetic emergency, but emergency dentists are better for accidents, severe pain, or infections.

What you describe as a flaw in your crown is actually a common occurrence. The horizontal line is called a craze line, and naturally occurs in both teeth and porcelain. Your crown was fine with this line, but now that you can feel it, that means some sort of shift has occurred. You will have to get the crown replaced before any other shifts happen.

Since you have had these crowns for ‘ages’, as you said, your cosmetic dentist may recommend that you replace all of them along with the cracked one. This is a good way to ensure that the replacement for the cracked crown matches the rest of your dental work. However, if there is nothing structurally wrong with your other crowns, it is not necessary to replace them. A master ceramist at a quality dental lab can match the color of your new crown to your current ones; an inexperienced cosmetic dentist will insist on replacing all the crowns, as they lack the necessary skill in painting and color matching porcelain.

This blog post is brought to you by Baton Rouge emergency dentist, Dr. Ryan Perry.