LASER CLINICAL CROWN LENGTHENING
When a tooth is destroyed to the extent that we cannot fix it with a filling, we have to make a crown. It is very important that the dentist prepares the tooth and the adjacent tissues properly for crown placement. If not, there can be certain complications like gum bleeding and destroying adjacent tissues.
To prevent complications we have to prepare sorrounding tissues or to assure an appropriate biological width.
What is biological width?
Biological width is a professional expression for the distance needed between the top of the bone and the edge of the crown.
The top of the bone has to be at least 3 mm far from the edge of the new crown, in order to prevent bleeding and inflamed gum and permanent tissue destruction next to the new crown.
An insufficient biological width – |
A sufficient biological width – |
We can remove the top of the bown in two ways– with laser or a surgical procedure.
Less painfully to the crown with laser treatment
When we discover that we cannot fix the tooth with a filling, most people wish for a crown. If there isn’t a big part of the tooth missing under the gum, we can remove the bone and gum with the laser. The laser procedure is quicker and less invasive than the classical surgical procedure, because we don’t need to stitch the wound and infections are less frequent. Gum and bone healing is extremely fast, there is no scar after the procedure. Consequently the dentist can place the new crown earlier.
We can only remove gum with the soft tissue laser that most practices in Slovenia have. But we cannot remove bone and consequently achieve the bilogical width that is required. The gum around the crown therefore gets inflamed and bleeds during brushing.
Deep chipping of the tooth |
An insufficient biological width |
The gum gets inflamed and bleeds while brushing. |
To assure an appropriate biological width, we also need a hard tissue laser Er:YAG with which we remove also the one. Only 5% of practices in Slovenia have this laser- among them also our practice.
INFORMATION
Kadar je odlom zoba obsežnejši in globlji, je potreben kirurški poseg. Ker že sam poseg traja dlje časa, pa tudi zdravljenje dlesni in kosti je po kirurškem posegu počasnejše kot po laserskem posegu, morate na namestitev nove prevleke čakati dlje.
How do we assure biological width with laser and place a new crown?
We remove a part of the bone and gum with the laser to get the appropriate biological width. That’s why we can impress the part of the tooth next to the gum precisely, in order fort he lab technician to make a perfectly fitting crown.
Less extensive chipping of dead tooth |
Removing the bone with the laser |
Healed bone and gum |
When the gum and bown heal, the dentist inserts a post and makes an impression fort he crown.
Cementing the post |
Placing the new crown |
The gum is healed and seemingly attached to the crown |
I want to know more
In the following video you can watch, how the dentist gets an appropriate biological width: