A Tooth Filled with Amalgam Long Ago Has Cracked.

Hello.

I am Dr. Junhee Jeon of Shinchon Dental Guardian.

Tooth cracks commonly occur in men in their 40s and 50s.

As stress accumulates from heavy responsibilities and demanding work, you may clench your teeth tightly day and night, experience teeth grinding accompanied by snoring, and consequently develop strong jaw muscles that apply excessive biting force to your teeth even during everyday meals.

Today’s case also features a male patient in his late 40s.

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An amalgam restoration placed a very long time ago is visible.

A crack line crossing the amalgam filling is also visible.

You can see that the tooth has already broken away on both sides of the amalgam.

This is quite serious.

The reason is that,

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As you can see,

there is a high likelihood that extensive cracking has already progressed beneath the amalgam.

This crack has either already reached the dental pulp or has a very high likelihood of reaching it in the future and causing symptoms.

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Root canal treatment must be performed first.

The white material visible along the tooth root is the material used for root canal treatment.

As you all know by now, root canal treatment is the process of removing the pulp tissue inside the tooth and sealing it with dental material.

This procedure is performed to prevent the pulp tissue from becoming infected along the crack.

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Once root canal treatment is complete, the area where the amalgam was located is firmly restored with composite resin.

A crown is then placed to slow the progression of any remaining cracks.

Root canal treatment on a molar must always be completed with a crown.

If you have an old amalgam restoration, or if you have suddenly noticed that food is getting trapped around the amalgam more frequently, we recommend visiting a nearby dental clinic.

This concludes today’s post.

#DrJunheeJeonShinchonDentalGuardian #ProsthodonticsSpecialist #AmalgamCrack #ToothCrack ​