Management of lateral incisor with palatal radicular groove

[Juan]

Hope I typed that title right.

So I have this groove in both my lateral incisors which basically seems to be a mutation that occurs very rarely in people which causes bacteria to accumulate, which in turn causes other gum problems. The dentist says all he can do is open my gum and basically file the groove so that is not so deep, because he says if he fills the grove with anything, my gum will reject the material and I'll get an inflammation. But according to this case study, the dentist used something called "glass ionomer cement" to seal the groove and apparently worked out fine. So I wonder if my dentist is ignoring something. Is this "glass ionomer cement" kind of a new thing or is it something every dentist would know about?

I already have my right tooth filed (but not filled) about one year ago, but there is still a not so deep groove, and I've just got a small inflammation (not as bad as it used to be though) and the dentist said he cannot file it anymore otherwise he'd mess up the tooth, so he just cleaned it a bit and I'm taking ibuprofen. So I'm curious about whether there exist any materials that could be used to fill up the groove.

 

[LADentalclinic]

Hi Juan,
Glass ionomer cement is not new. It's been around for many years. It's hare to advise you without an examination. My suggestion would be for you to get a second opinion if you are not confident with the first one. There are a variety of dental materials available. Each dentist may prefer different materials and techniques, so a second opinion from a dentist that can look in your mouth would definitely be beneficial.