I am proud to say that I have all my own teeth at the age of 65. While that may not sound unusual to some people, everyone in my family who is my age or older wears dentures. I always tell people that that flossing is the key to good dental health. I have arthritis in my hands, but I don't let it keep me from flossing every day. My trick is to use those little "flossers" you can buy at the drug store. They have plastic handles floss stretched out on top of the handle. These make flossing easier on days when my arthritis is acting up. I started this blog to let other people know that they can keep their teeth healthy into old age when they take care of them. If you have hand pain, find ways to make flossing easier, like I did.
Don't Let Hand Pain Keep You from Flossing
Are Dental Crowns a Good Option For You?
Francis Miles
Dental crowns are among the most commonly used solutions in the dental industry. Patients are often unsure, though, whether they're good candidates for crowns. If your dentist says you're dealing with one of these 5 problems, there's a good chance crowns could be in your future.
A Weak Tooth
If you have at least one tooth that's weak from something like a sizable crack, a dentist may want to replace the exterior with something that'll hold up better. Teeth may also become weakened by decay, and there are scenarios where receiving too many filings in the same tooth could harm its integrity, too.
The idea behind installing crowns in these cases is to replace the enamel with a new coat of armor so the tooth can withstand greater forces. A dentist may especially favor this approach with the back molars that often take a beating during the chewing process.
Misshaped Teeth
A poorly formed tooth can cause problems over a lifetime. For example, an unusually small tooth could make eating harder. Likewise, a tooth might grow in without an even edge. When a patient has these kinds of issues, dental crowns are usually the easiest way to correct the problem. Once more, the goal is to remove some of the exterior protection of the tooth and replace it with something stronger. In this case, the crown also provides the correct shape.
Severe Discoloration
Generally, a dental hygienist can deal with a normal level of discoloration in a tooth. However, the problem may run so deep due to severe staining or a previous infection in the tooth that the simpler solution is to effectively resurface the tooth. Dentists often use veneers for this purpose, but it may be better to use crowns because they tend to withstand day-to-day use better.
Worn-Out Teeth
People suffer from worn-out teeth due to eating lots of hard foods, gnashing their teeth, or genetic predispositions to softness in the enamel. Restoring the solidity of a tooth in this condition is difficult, and dental crowns tend to be the fastest way to solve the issue.
Excessive Decay
A highly decayed tooth can present problems beyond a lack of structure. However, it may be possible to preserve enough of it to serve as a base for a dental appliance. The dentist will clean out the damaged areas and likely treat any active infection with a medicated filling. They will then use the filling as the base for the crown, effectively capping the heavily repaired tooth.
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