Need A Filling Or Crown? Your Central London Dentist May Recommend Crown Lengthening
Crown lengthening allows crowns and fillings to be applied to teeth even when a large portion of the original tooth has broken or decayed away. If a tooth breaks off around the gum line the dentist will generally not have enough tooth with which to work, crown lengthening exposes a greater area of a tooth in order to allow treatment. By removing some gum tissue or bone your Central London dentist will be able to fix a previously untreatable area.
Before a crown lengthening can be undertaken an x-ray will be taken to make sure the underlying bone structure is healthy and can support the work. Your teeth will be professionally cleaned and prepared for the procedure. Only requiring a local anaesthetic, it is a fairly quick procedure depending on how many teeth need work. Although only a single tooth may need to treatment your dentist may decide it is necessary to undertaken some work on the adjacent teeth to maintain functionality and a straight appearance.
For some patients the procedure only involves the removal of soft tissue from the gums, this can expose enough of the tooth to allow further work to take place. But the majority of the time the dentist will also need to remove some bone material from the root area. With the bone removed the dentist will stitch and bandage your gums back together. You will likely be proscribed pain relief and mouth wash to make sure the incision remains clean. You may wish to eat mainly soft foods while recovering.