Question
I (w,25) have broken a corner of my front incisor. The dentist provisionally repaired the tooth. This could last for about a year. A crown should be made later. Now I've heard that a glass cover could also be made, which would be less expensive. Is this true, and what are the pros and cons?
Short answer
Tooth reconstructions with thin glass shells were carried out around 20 years ago. However, they did not prove successful as they were mechanically too weak. They are no longer used today. Today, there are more durable solutions made of plastic or porcelain to repair a broken tooth. However, they place high demands on the dentist.
Tooth reconstructions with thin glass shells were carried out around 20 years ago. However, they did not prove successful as they were mechanically too weak.
Today's methods are as follows:
Repair with plastic
Repairing small defects with plastic (composite) can often meet high standards for years. In the case of larger defects, the plastic repair often begins to become visible as such after just a few months, as plastic ages relatively quickly and can change color. Plastic is also less stable than porcelain and is more likely to break again, but is cheaper and can be produced in just one session.
Reconstructions with porcelain
Reconstructions made of porcelain, which are able to best imitate tooth enamel with all its fine details, offer ideal aesthetics that remain constant over many years. There are two different ways of reconstructing teeth with porcelain. The first is the so-called porcelain crown. Here, the entire visible part of the tooth must be slightly reduced all around so that the crown can be placed over the remaining tooth substance like a hat and cemented. The crown is therefore only justified for large defects, as otherwise a comparatively large amount of healthy tooth material has to be ground away. However, it is a tried and tested method and lasts a very long time, provided it is produced with high precision.
The second is the porcelain veneer. This is a wafer-thin shell of pure porcelain that is bonded to the entire visible front surface of the affected tooth. Due to the invisible bonding and the minimal thickness of the porcelain, the incident light behaves very similarly to a natural tooth. Healthy tooth substance must also be removed from the porcelain shell, but comparatively little. In order to make the bond sufficiently strong, porcelain veneers should only be used on otherwise healthy teeth with sufficient enamel. On existing fillings or on the dentin (tooth layer under the enamel), porcelain veneers would not adhere sufficiently and would break quickly.
This is considered the most modern method, but places the highest demands on the dentist and dental technician.
Dr. med. dent. Jürg Eppenberger
Neue Luzerner Zeitung on September 3, 2011