When there is a severe bite condition, the patient's teeth may have too much force from the opposing teeth, thus causing cracks in their teeth and ultimately breaking them apart.

This patient had problems in the past with fracturing or cracking due to the way that his top and bottom teeth came together.  

He came in to have his amalgam fillings replaced in the teeth shown.  As he decided not to go through the procedure of having his bite corrected, there are still chances of more cracking in the future. 

Here is a sequence of photos that show how we were able to repair this severely broken tooth without having to extract it. 

Photo 1. Before treatment

This shows the condition when the patient arrived in our office.  First we removed the mercury fillings from the molars. 

Then we addressed the cracked tooth (second from the left).

To the naked eye it appears that this tooth looks okay, but as you will see later, it has been receiving a lot of unwanted stresses over the years. 

Photo 2. Tooth cracked in half

Biting stresses have cracked the tooth almost in half.  Notice how severe the damage is to this tooth after all broken, loose and decayed material was removed.  

Some dentists may say that this tooth is not savable and would opt to have this tooth extracted.  We look at how we can save teeth and this is a perfect example of our keen desire to do so.

Photo 3. The piece that cracked off

This is the amount of tooth structure that broke off. In some cases this could cause a great deal of pain to the individual, but this fellow was able to carry on until he came into our office. 

Photo 4. Model of prepared tooth

This is a model of the tooth after it was prepared (built up), ready to have a crown made for it by our specialized dental lab. 

Photo 5. New crown on model

Here is the finished crown (restoration) back from the lab, placed on the study model to ensure perfect fit. We work closely with our lab technician to create the most idealized restoration possible.

It is very important to us that the patient receives the best, most biocompatible material on the market. As new products are developed, we test them to determine the biocompatiblity, and only pick the best of the best.  

Presently, the material we feel is the absolute best is the glass-ceramic e.max, in terms of biocompatibility, durability, being metal-free and that fact that it looks just like a real tooth.   

Of couse we test each individual to ensure they are getting the best material for THEM, as we recognize each person is different, and what is best for one is not best for everyone.   

Photo 6. Seated e.max crown

The Final Product: Look at how great the new crown looks in the patient's mouth! 

Once the crown has been cemented in, we work through a strict bite adjustment protocol to ensure that the crown is making contact in all of the proper areas. If the crown feels high or uneven, we minimally reduce the crown to ensure the most comfortable fit.

There are times when the patient has to come back for a bite adjustment.  Sometimes the patient will pick up on little nuances while they eat or are lightly touching their teeth after their appointment in the office.

This is normal and we will schedule the person to come back and adjust the bite optimally.   

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