Dental Negligence Compensation Claim Solicitors - Crown or Extraction




Dental Negligence Solicitors

Our dental negligence compensation solicitors are all members of the Solicitors Regulation Authority panel of clinical negligence experts and deal with dental negligence claims using the no win no fee scheme. No legal charge is payable unless the legal case is won and the client obtains an award of compensation. In the event that the legal claim is lost there is no charge made to the client. To talk to a specialist dental negligence compensation solicitor just call the helpline and we will discuss no win no fee or legal aid.

Tooth Extraction

    Whenever a tooth is severely damaged or permanently infected, it must be extracted by a dentist or oral surgeon. An extraction is carried out whenever a tooth cannot be saved. Tooth extractions leave the tooth socket area blank until a tooth implant or a dental bridge is put in its place.

    The dentist will numb up the area where the tooth extraction will take place. Sometimes a general anesthetic or sedation is used if the person needs multiple extractions or is very anxious about the extraction. The tooth is removed using special tools. After the extractions, stitches may occasionally need to be used to seal the hole. You may be asked to bite down on a gauze pad in order to stop the bleeding. An implant, bridge or denture may be placed in order to have something in place of the healed socket.

    Heart Problems

    Tooth extractions may need to be done to help your heart. While there is some debate about this, it is felt that, if there is infection in the teeth area or in the gums, this can lead to heart disease. This is one of the reasons why extractions for infected teeth may need to be performed if there is no antibiotic or other procedure to cure the problem.

    Infection

    Removing a tooth can keep infection from spreading to other parts of the mouth. In some cases, the removal of a tooth can cause infection to spread temporarily to the bloodstream if the socket becomes infected. Some people with heart conditions must take antibiotics before and after the extraction to prevent bacteria from settling to a heart valve. Those with heart defects or artificial heart valves especially need antibiotics around the time of an extraction or they have an increased likelihood of a heart infection. Ideally, teeth extractions need to be done as soon as it is clear that the tooth cannot be saved. This keeps infection at bay and helps clear up the problem before it gets out of hand and causes a worsened abscess or damage to alveolar bone.

Dental Crown

    Dental crowns are shaped like teeth and are usually made of porcelain (sometimes gold). A dental crown forms a cap over a tooth that has broken or has suffered from decay and cannot be properly filled. A dental crown creates a strong tooth (dependent on the root quality) that is of the shape of the original tooth (or better) before it was damaged. Crowns are kept in place using dental cement (glue) and may completely encase what's left of the original tooth.

    Crowns are used to restore a broken or worn tooth, to protect a weak tooth, to support a tooth that has more filling than tooth left or to hold a dental bridge in place. Also dental implants need a crown on top of the titanium root as do severely misshapen or discoloured original teeth.

    Permanent or Temporary Dental Crowns

    Crowns can be permanent or temporary. Permanent crowns are made from gold metal alloy, palladium alloy, resin, porcelain that has been fused to metal or ceramic material. Metal crowns last the longest because they tend to wear down the least. Metal is a good choice for molar teeth because they aren't usually visible. Wear, if it happens, tends to happen on the teeth opposite the metal crown. Porcelain crowns look nice but can chip or break in certain circumstances. Porcelain fused to metal crowns can show the metal through the thin porcelain veneer and can be unsightly. All resin crowns are cheaper than other crowns but are more prone to fracture.

    Ceramic or Porcelain

    Full ceramic crowns (100% ceramic) or full porcelain crowns (100% porcelain) can be color matched to the original teeth and they work better for those people who have metal allergies. Full ceramic crowns and full porcelain crowns aren't as strong as crowns made of porcelain or ceramic fused to metal.

    Acrylic Crowns

    Temporary crowns are usually constructed from acrylic material and are made by the dentist in the surgery. You wear them for only a few weeks until the permanent crown is made in the laboratory and can be put in its place. Temporary crowns are simply functional and are not meant to look pretty or to have a perfect bite.

    Procedure

    Crowns take two office visits to the dentist. In the first visit, the dentist prepares the tooth, puts on the temporary crown and determines the dimensions of the permanent crown. In the second visit, the dentist will remove the temporary crown and will replace it with the permanent crown.

    During the first visit, the dentist will numb the area and will file down the tooth that needs the crown so that the crown will fit over the stub of the tooth. Some crowns need a lot of tooth removed, while others need less tooth removed. Impressions will be made of the upper and lower teeth in order to determine the exact size and shape of the missing tooth. Errors in this process can lead to a crown that disturbs the patient's bite thereby causing other dental problems.

    It takes a week or more weeks to get the permanent tooth back from the laboratory. If it fits perfectly, it is cemented onto your tooth stub. Crowns usually last between 5 and 15 years.





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The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here