Have You Ever Heard of a Crown Lenghting?

Crown lengthening is performed in conjunction with a dental restoration when the damaged area of the tooth is far below the gumline and in too close proximity to the bone.  This leads to bacteria accumulation and inflammation in that area.  To prevent this crown lengthening can be performed where some of the soft tissue and bone are removed from around the tooth.  After a period of time of healing the crown can be completed in a manner that will lead to healthy gingival tissues.  

Crown lengthening is a valid procedure. People need this procedure when the edge of an existing crown or an existing filling is so far below the gum line and too lose to your bone that supports the tooth. It is necessary for gum health. It sounds like you had a large filling in the tooth with more decay which made the new tooth edge too far below the gum line.

Crown lengthening is an important procedure which needs to be done when the margin of a crown to be placed is too close to the level of the bone.  If crown lengthening is not done in this case and the crown is cemented anyhow, then the result will be bone loss of that tooth. 

The crown lengthening procedure consists of slightly reducing the bone around that tooth to create more space between the bone and the margin of the crown.  This is done with local anesthesia and is a comfortable and quick procedure.  All the best, Dr. Elizabeth Jahanian

 

Nancy, Crown Lengthening is without question a necessary and valid procedure and there are many indications for its usage. If a Tooth is considered small where there is not enough surface area to reliably hold on to a crown then Crown Lengthening can expose more healthy Tooth structure to solve that  problem. I'm sure its safe to assume that you or anyone else would not want to worry about your permanent  Crown coming off once or twice a week. There are also times when Dental Decay forms beneath the Gum Line coming close to the level of the bone. If a Crown is made under this circumstance than the margin of your new Crown will be too close to the bone  causing your Gums to feel irritated and swollen all of the time. This can be avoided by Crown Lengthening since bone and tissue can be gently  recontoured allowing space between the Crown Margin and the Bone. Under most situations Crown Lengthening is a minor Surgical procedure which can be done routinely and painlessly in about 20 minutes to half an hour. I hope that this explanation  helps you.

Yes, it is true.

Crown lenghtening is a surgical procedure.It happens whenever a tooth has a deep decay that gooes underneath the gingiva and the bone. We have to remove the decay and part of the gingiva with the bone in order to have a marginal closure for your crown.If we do not do that your crown will fail in the long run.It will come off.Other times we will encounter reccurent decay.

Sometimes,we do crown lenghtening when your tooh is very small and we have to expand the surface of the tooth in order to increase the retention for the crown to be placed.

Nancy,

Doctors comments have been "spot on".  It crown lengthening is needed, not doing it can result in constant soreness, redness, and bleeding.  Teeth have even been known to move apart, thus opening a space between, due to swollen gums from crown edges (margins) being to close to the bone.  If you are uncomfortable about the need, get a second opinion from another dentist and/or have your dentist show and explain the problem using your xrays.  A crown with a properly placed margin which does not decrease the healthy "biological width" of the gum tissues will be worth the extra cost if crown lengthening is needed.  Best of luck!

Crown lengthening is necessary to properly create a new crown. Most commonly, the cavity has gone under the gum, or possibly there was an old filling that extended under the gum line.

Crown lengthening is the process of pushing the gum lower in that area, so enough solid tooth can be accessed by your cosmetic dentist to make a new crown. 

It's not a bogus treatment, if anything it's not performed often enough resulting in a poor fitting crown.

In our office we do these routinely with a Laser. There are a number of ways it can be done.

When placing a crown on your tooth, it is critical that the dentist leave the gum that rings the tooth and attaches to the bone alone.  If that area is invaded during the preparation or with the margin of the crown, chronic inflammation will result, causing the area to turn red, bleed easily and never feel comfortable for you.  In those cases where the old filling, crown or cavity is deep under the gum, crown lengthening will solve the problem and allow the dentist to give you a better fitting and biologically acceptable crown that is long-lasting and comfortable.

Best of Luck!!  

Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure to remove necessary  portion of bone surrounding the tooth  to make room for a new crown. This is necessary when the decay, existing filling, and damage on the tooth is too far below the gum, and too close to the bone not leaving room for a crown to be placed .