Is a Chipped eMax Crown Still Strong? (photo)

Question

Hello, I recently had an emax crown placed on one of my lateral incisors, and have recently chipped the bottom of it. The chip is very small, but I was wondering if this chip will weaken the crown in some way thereby making it more prone to fracture. Thanks for your time doctors! J.H.

Leonard Tau, DMD · Answer

Sorry to hear about your problem with your front tooth. Emax is very strong material and I have placed a lot of restorations without any issues. It may be an issue with your bite or lab issue. Have your dentist check it out and ask for the crown to be replaced. Hope this helps

Scott Greenhalgh, DDS · Answer

Dental crowns have come a long way. eMax is a very strong material. There are still different versions of eMax crowns-some are solid eMax, and others are "layered". 

	For front teeth we are typically using layered eMax. These are very strong, but not completely indestructible. 

	The chip you have is very small and should not cause your crown to be any weaker.

	I would have your cosmetic dentist smooth it, and most importantly, look very carefully at your bite pattern to make sure the sliding pressure is very even across all of your front teeth or crowns.

	Most of the time when I send a patient home with their new front teeth crowns, we are usually making a night guard for added protection.

Lawrence Singer, DMD (in memoriam) · Answer

Emax is amzaing material and I have not experienced any chips in hundreds of restorations. If I had to guess - there may have been some Lab error in the process -the material has to be handled exactly according to specifications or it will have it's strength compromised. I would ask to have it remade - maybe by a different lab. Shouldn't happen with eMAX.

Is a Chipped eMax Crown Still Strong? (photo)

Answers (3)