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Dr Hall,
I recently had my six front teeth, from canine to canine, crowned. Doing this it closed a large gap between my two front teeth. Now I can’t speak clearly and because of the closure and the stress of trying to learn how to speak again my jaw and neck hurt all the time. Also, my mouth stays dry and my lips are numb what could this be caused by?? Also is it possible to get the space put back between the two new crowns on my front teeth?? Your advice would be appreciated.
– Paul from Georgia
Paul,
This sounds like a serious problem that needs to be addressed.
I am pretty confident your troubles have nothing to do with closing the gap between your two front teeth, but are because of other problems with the crowns. I closed many such gaps in my practice and never had any adverse feedback like you are giving me—no speech issues, pain, or dry mouth. It sounds to me that your dentist opened your bite too far.
It could be that your crowns are too thick and/or too long. This could cause a problem called lip incompetence which is the failure of the lips to close naturally, without effort when your teeth bite together. If your bite is correct, when you put your teeth together, your lips should naturally fall into place and be closed without your having to think about it. Your dry mouth and the numbness in your lips suggest to me that you may have this lip incompetence.
Also, if your crowns are too thick, they could throw off your bite leading to pain in your jaw and neck, besides causing speech problems.
Both the pain and the dry mouth are serious problems. The pain issue is obvious. The dry mouth less so but is just as important because it can lead to rampant tooth decay. The washing and buffering action of your saliva, plus the antibodies it contains are critical in fighting tooth decay. Don’t let this go on.
You really need a second opinion. I’m suspecting that your dentist got in over his or her head in doing this many crowns simultaneously on you. That’s my guess. I’d go to one of our recommended cosmetic dentists to evaluate the result and see what needs to be done to fix it.
– Dr. Hall
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
what happens when crowns are too thick. It creates a protected space where the crown meets the tooth and in that protected space, gum-disease-causing bacteria multiply freely. Microscopic food particles will get trapped there, it is impossible to clean effectively, with resulting