I have a dental crown that has fallen off four times. It was this last time that the dentist mentioned that we’ll need to do a gingivectomy in order for there to be enough tooth to keep on the crown. Is this legitimate? I’m frustrated about this crown and don’t really want to mess up my gums in the process.
Evan
Dear Evan,
I’m not keen on your dentist. I’ll tell you right away that most dentists go their entire career without a dental crown falling off, but to have the same one fall off four times…
As to the gingivectomy, this is done by removing some of the gum tissue in order to expose more of the tooth structure. While this is sometimes needed, I’m curious as to why he would not have noticed the need for it before he did the first crown. That he is just noticing this now tells me that he is either incompetent, or you don’t really need the procedure and he’s using that as an excuse to make you a new crown.
The first thing I recommend is that you ask for a refund for both yourself as well as the insurance company if any of it was billed to them. This should not be an issue because you don’t have a functioning dental crown. Keeping it in your mouth should be the minimum standard.
Then, I want you to get a second opinion about your dental crown from another dentist Don’t tell them what your original dentist said. Let them give their unbiased diagnosis.
I think another dentist should be able to get this straightened out fairly easily.
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