A little over two weeks ago I was in a minor accident and the impact was to my face, with the most long term damage to one of my teeth.
As a result, one of my front central incisors has two horizontal (half moon/rainbow shaped) cracks in it; one sitting on top of the other. The cracks cover about 25% of the tip of my tooth. I can't tell if the cracks go through to the back side of my tooth, however I believe it is simply a crack in the enamel, as the tooth is not sensitive to cold or hot.
I have been going to one dentist office for the past three years, run by father and son dentists. I have always been scheduled with the son and have always had great service and work done, with wisdom tooth extractions being the extent of my needs. After the accident, I was able to make an urgent appointment and I assume that is why I was scheduled with the father this time.
At the first appointment he said it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be after what I described over the phone. The assistant took an x-ray, and the dentist said that there were no visible fractures beyond the gum line and no apparent abscess, so he wanted to wait until my teeth "settled down" and weren't so loose from the accident to see how things were going to be. He did warn me that I may need a crown. He also told me that I have cavities on the top front 6 teeth in between each tooth.
At my follow up two weeks later, I explained that everything has gotten much better. I can now talk without pain from tapping my teeth together, and I can even use my front teeth very gently to bite into soft foods. I even ate a cheeseburger the other day and everything was fine as long as the majority of the pressure was on the opposite side of my mouth. A week before this, I was at the point where I was struggling to find the right position to put a straw in my mouth so my top lip didn't put pressure on my cracked tooth. This was also about the time that my lateral incisor was still loose and causing me similar pain (it was knocked slightly sideways in the accident.) However, now my lateral incisor causes me no pain at all and at the two week follow up my dentist filed down a little behind that tooth because it was affecting my bite since my tooth is now slightly crooked. I told him that my cracked tooth is not painful to the touch anymore, although I'm sure if I were to hit it hard then it would hurt. I believe it is still a little loose, and I do get a strange feeling when I put pressure on it in any direction. I tried to explain to him the feeling was similar to what you would imagine when you think of the word "fresh." He suggested an electric-type feeling. Sort of. He said that could be the tooth continuing to heal. However, he now believes that I will have to get a crown, and is insisting on filling my cavities in one month. His opinion is that if in one month from now when I go in to fill the cavities that "electric" feeling hasn't gone away completely that I need a crown.
I do not have dental insurance, the front desk knows that, and I made it clear to the dentist at my first appointment with him after the accident. I asked him if there were other options, and he told me that even if he decides that I don't need a crown in a month, there is a 60% chance I will need one at some point down the road. On my way out, I received an estimate for getting the cavities on five (even though the dentist said six) teeth done.
I am hoping that my tooth continues to feel better and better each day, and that I do not have to get a cap. I am worried that this father dentist may be too eager to put a cap on my tooth. Since I don't have dental insurance, my last visit with a dentist was one year ago almost exactly (with the son dentist) for a general cleaning/check up and I also requested an x-ray to examine the two remaining impacted wisdom teeth. I got a fancy 360-degree x-ray. The son dentist never mentioned any cavities in my front top teeth. I'm not sure if I should assume the son dentist just never noticed these even though he always seemed very thorough, or if I have developed cavities in between all six top front teeth within one year, or if there really are no cavities and I am being scammed?
In my life, I have had two very small cavities and that was it. My parents had my teeth sealed when I was younger and I believe that contributed to the health of my teeth. Even as an adult, I hardly ever eat candy or sweets and I just didn't expect so many cavities out of the blue like this, not to mention at the same exact time I am being told I need to shell out a ton of money for a crown?
Yes the cracks are unpleasant to look at, but I would be more than happy to live with them than get a crown if I can avoid it; as long as I'm not making it worse for myself in the long run by not getting it capped if it really is necessary. I don't know if this dentist sees a crown as the last resort like I do. I have trusted this dental clinic for years and now that I am feeling uneasy, I don't know if I can trust another dentist that I have never seen before to get a second opinion.
Does this really sound like I will need a crown?
As a result, one of my front central incisors has two horizontal (half moon/rainbow shaped) cracks in it; one sitting on top of the other. The cracks cover about 25% of the tip of my tooth. I can't tell if the cracks go through to the back side of my tooth, however I believe it is simply a crack in the enamel, as the tooth is not sensitive to cold or hot.
I have been going to one dentist office for the past three years, run by father and son dentists. I have always been scheduled with the son and have always had great service and work done, with wisdom tooth extractions being the extent of my needs. After the accident, I was able to make an urgent appointment and I assume that is why I was scheduled with the father this time.
At the first appointment he said it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be after what I described over the phone. The assistant took an x-ray, and the dentist said that there were no visible fractures beyond the gum line and no apparent abscess, so he wanted to wait until my teeth "settled down" and weren't so loose from the accident to see how things were going to be. He did warn me that I may need a crown. He also told me that I have cavities on the top front 6 teeth in between each tooth.
At my follow up two weeks later, I explained that everything has gotten much better. I can now talk without pain from tapping my teeth together, and I can even use my front teeth very gently to bite into soft foods. I even ate a cheeseburger the other day and everything was fine as long as the majority of the pressure was on the opposite side of my mouth. A week before this, I was at the point where I was struggling to find the right position to put a straw in my mouth so my top lip didn't put pressure on my cracked tooth. This was also about the time that my lateral incisor was still loose and causing me similar pain (it was knocked slightly sideways in the accident.) However, now my lateral incisor causes me no pain at all and at the two week follow up my dentist filed down a little behind that tooth because it was affecting my bite since my tooth is now slightly crooked. I told him that my cracked tooth is not painful to the touch anymore, although I'm sure if I were to hit it hard then it would hurt. I believe it is still a little loose, and I do get a strange feeling when I put pressure on it in any direction. I tried to explain to him the feeling was similar to what you would imagine when you think of the word "fresh." He suggested an electric-type feeling. Sort of. He said that could be the tooth continuing to heal. However, he now believes that I will have to get a crown, and is insisting on filling my cavities in one month. His opinion is that if in one month from now when I go in to fill the cavities that "electric" feeling hasn't gone away completely that I need a crown.
I do not have dental insurance, the front desk knows that, and I made it clear to the dentist at my first appointment with him after the accident. I asked him if there were other options, and he told me that even if he decides that I don't need a crown in a month, there is a 60% chance I will need one at some point down the road. On my way out, I received an estimate for getting the cavities on five (even though the dentist said six) teeth done.
I am hoping that my tooth continues to feel better and better each day, and that I do not have to get a cap. I am worried that this father dentist may be too eager to put a cap on my tooth. Since I don't have dental insurance, my last visit with a dentist was one year ago almost exactly (with the son dentist) for a general cleaning/check up and I also requested an x-ray to examine the two remaining impacted wisdom teeth. I got a fancy 360-degree x-ray. The son dentist never mentioned any cavities in my front top teeth. I'm not sure if I should assume the son dentist just never noticed these even though he always seemed very thorough, or if I have developed cavities in between all six top front teeth within one year, or if there really are no cavities and I am being scammed?
In my life, I have had two very small cavities and that was it. My parents had my teeth sealed when I was younger and I believe that contributed to the health of my teeth. Even as an adult, I hardly ever eat candy or sweets and I just didn't expect so many cavities out of the blue like this, not to mention at the same exact time I am being told I need to shell out a ton of money for a crown?
Yes the cracks are unpleasant to look at, but I would be more than happy to live with them than get a crown if I can avoid it; as long as I'm not making it worse for myself in the long run by not getting it capped if it really is necessary. I don't know if this dentist sees a crown as the last resort like I do. I have trusted this dental clinic for years and now that I am feeling uneasy, I don't know if I can trust another dentist that I have never seen before to get a second opinion.
Does this really sound like I will need a crown?
