Q.
About three years ago I had my two lower back teeth crowned as well as two top teeth (next to each other on the upper right side). My back teeth were weak from grinding that used to happen from the stress from grad school. The upper two, one had a root canal and the other had a deep cavity. I got the porcelain crowns with gold underneath. I had nothing but problems with the crowns ever since. The back two almost completely crumbled all the way around the tooth less than a year after they were fitted. The upper tooth with the root canal had a small chip during the first year as well. The other crown has been fine. The dentist redid the back two crowns once. One has been fine. The other has a small round chip which appears to be worn from my bite. I have been back numerous times over the past fews years regarding these crowns. The dental director I spoke with last said I could have the crown redone again, and that it looked like it wasn’t fit right. They scheduled me for another appointment. When I went, the dentist who was supposed to do the work acted totally unprofessionally and told me that this “would be alot of work,” and that he “didn’t feel comfortable” about redoing my crown a second time. I ultimately told the dentist that I didn’t feel comfortable using their services and asked for my medical file. The crown that I have a problem with is regarding the wear down in a pattern which clearly appears to be consistent with my bite. If not fit right, that seems to be the reason why the crown is worn in that manner. The dentist insisted now that it was from grinding. I haven’t grinded my teeth for quite some time, and when I did, I could tell due to jaw pain. My boyfriend also said he’s never noticed it. My question is whether a crown with a worn down spot appears to be more from being improperly fit, as the director suggested during my last visit, or whether it sounds like grinding? I find it somewhat hard to accept that I am grinding, since like I said, it was very noticeable when I did it previously. It seems like the dentist just didn’t want to fix my tooth. That’s why I am switching dentists to someone who is willing to fix my teeth/resolve my dental issues and not make me feel uncomfortable. Any insight you may have will ease my mind after a very stressful dental visit. Thank you so much. Sincerely,