Crowns or caps are fitted over the tooth in a dentist’s office when the tooth has been decayed, chipped, or broken. To fix the tooth, your dentist in Glendale might recommend a simple surgical procedure known as crown lengthening.
What Is Crown Lengthening?
If your Glendale dentist says you need crown lengthening, it means that they’d remove the gum tissue, bone, or both. This is usually done to expose more areas of the tooth to facilitate easy fixing. Below are some more reasons why you need crown lengthening for your teeth.
How Does Crown Lengthening Help?
As mentioned above, this procedure facilitates fixing a tooth easily. This is because sometimes the dentist may not be able to view a sufficient part of the tooth above the gum. In this case, lending support to a dental filling or crown may get difficult.
Besides that, it may so happen that a tooth has broken off at the gum line. Besides, a previously fitted crown or filling may come off and expose decay underneath the tooth. To place back the crown or do a fresh round of filling, more part of the tooth needs to be exposed. This is where crown lengthening can help.
Most important, crown lengthening at Glendale dental clinic is being hugely demanded by people with a “gummy smile”. This means that they have a lot of gum tissue around their upper teeth that the teeth aren’t visible much. Your dentist at Glendale can help restore a beautiful smile via crown lengthening.
What Happens During Crown Lengthening at Glendale?
If you have any situation as described above, you may want to visit the Smile Makeover of LA for a consultation. Our expert team of dentists would first conduct a routine X-Ray to review your dental condition.
Based on their review, they might prescribe crown lengthening if they feel the need so. Besides that, your Glendale dentist might also ask you to get professional dental cleaning before the procedure.
In some cases, if the tooth needs a crown or cap urgently, your dentist might fit a temporary crown. This protects the teeth until the experts complete the crown lengthening procedure.
Aftercare for Crown Lengthening
Since the procedure is surgical, your mouth may feel a bit sore during the first few hours. To provide comfort, you may use ice packs that can help reduce swelling, if any.
You would also need to visit your dentist at Glendale dental clinic within 7-10 days. The dentist would then carefully remove the stitches. They might call you for a routine follow-up within 4-6 weeks of the procedure.
Besides that, gum healing after crown lengthening may generally take up to 3 months. It is then that the tooth would be ready to accept the final crown. Your dentist would let you know when to come next to get the crown placed.
In case you notice any of the unusual signs below during the healing stage, contact your Glendale dentist immediately:
- Incessant bleeding
- Inefficacy of painkillers
- Possible signs of infection such as intolerable pain or inflammation
- Discharge from the affected tooth area
- Loosening or falling off of the bandage
- Soft lumps underneath the lower jaw or in the neck area; could be signs of swollen lymph nodes
If you too feel the need to get crown lengthening, get in touch with Smile Makeover of LA dental clinic in Glendale. You may call Dr. Sahakyan, the expert dentist of Glendale, at 818-578-2332 to book an appointment. Visit the clinic for a consultation on the best option in your case.