“Rebecca” has been self conscious about her dark front tooth ever since she had the accident. She fell and her front tooth took a hard hit. As a result, the tooth needed a root canal treatment. ⁣⁣⁣

A tooth can darken considerably after trauma and although Rebecca never had any pain in the tooth after the root canal, the discoloured tooth was an aesthetic issue for her. We tried to bleach the tooth from the inside, what we call internal whitening. This lightened the tooth somewhat but it still remained noticeably darker than the other teeth. ⁣⁣⁣

We decided on a porcelain crown to solve the problem. To match one front tooth crown to the natural teeth is one of the biggest challenges that we have in dentistry. I had to be sure that my preparation of Rebecca’s tooth was precise to allow my lab technician to mask the dark tooth. Also, I had to make sure that the where the crown meets the tooth, what we call the margin, was just below the gums so that it was not noticeable. Going too far below the gums with the margin can cause red, sore gums, so this was a very important consideration. ⁣⁣⁣

Cosmetic or aesthetic dentistry not only involves making sure the teeth look nice but also making sure that the gums are healthy and aesthetic as well. They are just as important to the final result! ⁣⁣⁣

In the end, we have a natural looking crown that blends well with the other teeth. The gums around the crown are healthy and happy. I finished Rebecca ‘s smile by fixing the small chip in the tooth beside the crown with a little bonding. ⁣⁣⁣

The greatest pleasure for me is seeing Rebecca smile with confidence. She now smiles freely and openly. And seeing her so happy has me smiling as well. It’s always more than just fixing teeth! ⁣⁣⁣