Tooth Filling Fell Out – Crown Fell Out
San Antonio Dental Office
A tooth filling fell out or a crown fell out… What now!?!
If a tooth filling fell out or crown fell out, it is bad news. That filling or crown was protecting an already damaged tooth. Once it is gone, it leaves an open hole. That hole lets in germs and causes sensitivity and pain during chewing, especially if it has a sharp edge. Furthermore, if you’re wondering what causes fillings to fall out, cavities and bad occlusion are the two main causes. To learn more about what causes fillings to fall out, keep reading. Also, if you happen to have dry mouth, don’t miss our patient Becky’s story at the bottom of the page. Knowing how dry mouth causes cavities and how to stop the problem can save you a lot of trouble and money.
Becky’s Dry Mouth Story:
The Lovely Lady with Failing Fillings
Becky came to me with a cavity in every tooth and a ton of failing fillings. She was tired of dental problems and extremely frustrated with her previous dentist. The failing fillings were pretty new and she couldn’t figure out why she kept needing to replace fillings and crowns.
Find the REAL Problem Instead of Patching the Surface Problem
Becky has a friend in San Antonio who told her about us. Her friend told her how we insist on figuring out WHY things go wrong and to fixing the ROOT problem so that it doesn’t keep happening. Becky felt desperate, so she booked a flight and came from California for a consultation. She was determined to fix her mouth once and for all.
When Dental Problems Aren’t Dental
At her consultation, we started off with Becky’s medical history and a thorough exam of her mouth -especially the failing restorations. Before long, I realized that Becky’s dental problems were being caused by her dry mouth. She was shocked! “Can dry mouth cause cavities like this!?!” she asked. After more investigation, we knew the dry mough was caused by her medications.
When Dental Solutions Aren’t Dental
Sometimes the first step in fixing a dental problem is not dental treatment. For Becky, step one in permanently fixing her teeth was medical, not dental. Why? Because the answer to the question “Can dry mouth cause cavities?” is a definite “YES!” We needed to deal with her root problem, dry mouth, before dealing with the cavities. Otherwise, the cavities would just keep coming.
First things FIRST!
We started her treatment by talking to her physician. We needed to know if he could treat her medical conditions with medications that don’t cause dry mouth? If the dry mouth can be fixed, then we could simply fix her teeth and be done. If the dry mouth could NOT be stopped, then she would need a more complicated solution.
Find a Good Long Term Solution
In Becky’s case, her physician said that her medications could not be changed. That meant that her only long term solution was going to be full mouth dental implants. Dental implants are the only teeth that can survive dry mouth because they can’t decay.
Had we gone ahead and jumped right in replacing fillings and crowns, she would have been back on my doorstep in a matter of months having to do it again.
When a filling falls out or a crown falls off, ALWAYS find out WHY before investing in any repairs!
Why the Tooth Filling Fell Out
If your tooth filling fell out, then your tooth has probably had a problem for a while. Fillings often fall out if a cavity forms on their edge and weakens the seal between the filling and the tooth. This can happen because an old filling has gotten weak over time or because the tooth shape traps food. In addition, we frequently see failed fillings in patients who drink lots of sugary drinks or snack on high-carb snacks. In conclusion, figuring out why the filling failed is a key step is finding a long term durable fix. No Without doubt, no one wants to replace a restoration just to see it fail again. Read more here.
Beware of Filling Killing Candy!!!
Of course candy is bad for teeth, but did you know that some kinds of candy are extra bad? Imagine if your crown fell out because of the candy you were chewing! Surprisingly, some candies are so effective at pulling out fillings and crowns that dentists use them for crown removal during treatment. In fact, occasionally we get calls from patients who have pulled out a whole eating a sticky gummy candy. If you want to keep your teeth in your mouth and your fillings in your teeth, avoid sticky gummy candies! Read more here
Also, we already talked about sugary drinks earlier on this page, but they cause enough problems that they should be mentioned again. In general, sugary drinks include things like sodas, energy drinks, sweet tea, juice, sweetened coffee, and even organic smoothies. Basically, these drinks cause cavities around fillings and crowns because they keep the teeth constantly bathed in sugar when people sip them. For example, we’ve seen patients develop huge cavities in only six months after adding extra sugar to their coffee every morning. The sweet liquid finds the smallest cracks and fills them with sugar. To conclude, sugary drinks are powerful cavity creators.
Click below to learn more about how we replace missing restorations
Crowns
Crowns: Heal, Seal & Beautify
Repair ugly, broken and decayed teeth.
Implants
Implants: A Royal Opportunity
For thousands of years, people have been trying to find a functional way to replace lost teeth.