I have had crowns on my front four teeth for many years. They are porcelain fused to metal crowns, and have never been exactly what I would call attractive. There is a black line right along my gum line that looks terrible.
Is there anything that can be done to get rid of that line? I really hate it! I’ve recently come into a little money, and I think this is the perfect thing to spend it on. It is not a LOT of money, though, so I need to consider my options. From cheapest to most expensive, how can this black line be fixed?
Sinead from Alabama
Dear Sinead,
I am afraid there is no such thing as a cheap fix for this.
The issue is not in the workmanship, but in the structure of all porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. Don’t let a dentist suggest that he attempt to drill away the black line. Even if he manages to get rid of the dark line, there will still be a serious issue with matching the color of your underlying tooth to the crown, and there is virtually no chance that that kind of procedure can be accomplished with even minimally satisfactory results. Even a dentist who is incredibly talented at dental bonding would be hard pressed to make this look right.You have two options. You can live with the black line, or you can get new porcelain crowns. Unless you have an incredibly severe teeth grinding issue and refuse to wear a night guard, there should not be any reason you can’t get all porcelain crowns for those front teeth.Depending on where you decide to have the work done, the cost for porcelain crowns is between $1000 and $2000 per tooth.