I have just had a back tooth crowned with a precious metal and porcelain crown

Patient: Question for a dentist please..I have just had a back tooth crowned with a precious metal and porcelain crown but am concerned on two counts..the crown I have already had in the past was all ceramic as I am allergic to most metals (the only exception I know of is gold and silver, so I am unsure if my gum is going to go sore and inflamed with the palladium and gold crown). I requested ceramic crown but dentist overlooked my request & gave me this with metal. He maintains that an all ceramic crown would not be strong enough for a back tooth, but I have one already that has been fine for 10 + years. He suggested I ‘see how it goes’ with the crown he had made, and I feel he just wanted me to not waste his crown!! Still so far so good, it is not inflamed and have had it 5 days-but on the inner edge there is a gap between the gum line and the start of the porcelain crown, while the outer edge fits flush to the gumline. Food collects in this gap. Do I need this filled or replaced maybe?

Optional Information
Gender: Female
Age: 53
Already Tried: I am cleaning the gap between gum and start of crown edge very well with water pick and copious regular brushing and rising with a mouthwash. However my mouth felt *cleaner* when I had the lost filling and the original tooth than it does with the crown. It is also slightly high on the bite so my teeth don’t sit in line..the botton row crown hits the top teeth. Will it ‘bed down’ at all as time passes? If I have to have it replaced, should my dentist replace it at his cost or would I have to pay again (I paid £370 as a National Health patient!) I did ask my dentist about the gap on a phonecall and he said it would be fine, that I could just feel a ‘ledge’ and it wasn’t an actual gap where food could reach under the crown..should I trust this remark? I feel he should take a look at it? If so, how soon? Could it get infected or will it be Ok till my next filling appointment in 3 weeks? I am rather concerned as I already had an apisectomy on another crown 8 yrs ago and then months into years of intermittent antibiotics as the infection went into the sinus..then I ended up having the crown and root out anyway, so now have a gap (awaiting a bridge or implant but he wont do it yet).Also I wanted some veneers and he said ‘my type of teeth weren’t suitable for veneers’..is there such a thing as unsuitable teeth? They are sound but crooked in places? I now have seen these very fine veneers (thin as contact lenses) that can be had so maybe I could have those!Thanks in advance!

Doctor: thanks for posting your question on Health.is.edu ,

there is absoulutely no allergy problem with the high noble gold ceramic crown,

the metals are non allergic

if there is a little problem at the inner margin, the most common problem is in adequate brushing and flossing

I suggest you brush and Continue reading I have just had a back tooth crowned with a precious metal and porcelain crown