New Hanover County · Since 1987
Crown Repair & Replacement in Porters Neck, NC
A crown that has come off, cracked, chipped or started to hurt needs looking at soon. Sometimes it can be recemented the same day. Sometimes the tooth underneath is the real problem.
- Three doctors, one location
- Sedation available
- Most major plans accepted
- Written estimates before treatment
The basics of crown repair
Crowns fail in a handful of predictable ways. The cement washes out and the crown comes loose. Decay gets in at the edge where it meets the gum. The porcelain chips. Or the tooth underneath fractures. Each one has a different fix, and an x-ray tells us which one we are dealing with.
What we see from Porters Neck
More than a third of Porters Neck is 65 or older, and almost nobody moves, vacancy here runs around seven percent.
Most of the restorative work we do for this community is second-generation: replacing crowns and bridges placed twenty or thirty years ago that have finally given out. The question is rarely whether to treat it, it is whether to keep patching or rebuild properly.
A lot of the restorative work we do for Porters Neck involves replacing crowns and bridges placed elsewhere in the 1990s.
Porters Neck Plantation and Porters Neck Village together hold much of the community's older population, and both are a straight run down Market Street.
Vacancy here is around seven percent, so patients tend to stay with a practice for decades rather than years.
We see patients from across Porters Neck and the surrounding area, including Porters Neck Plantation, Porters Neck Village, Poplar Grove and the 28411 ZIP code.
New Hanover County is the built-out core of the region, growing around one percent a year, with roughly 21 percent of residents over 65 and the highest concentration of employer dental coverage in southeastern North Carolina.
We will tell you honestly whether this is worth doing now or whether it can be watched for a year, and we will say which of your existing work is likely to fail next.
This is the kind of restorative work we do most: patients who kept their teeth a long time and now want a plan that holds for the next twenty years.
You may be a candidate if
- A crown that has come off, whole or in pieces
- A crown that feels loose or moves when you chew
- Chipped or cracked porcelain
- A dark line or gap at the gum edge of an old crown
- Pain, sensitivity or a bad taste around a crowned tooth
The sequence of appointments
- Exam and x-rayWe check whether the crown, the cement or the tooth underneath has failed.
- Recement or repairA sound crown on a sound tooth is cleaned and cemented back on. A small porcelain chip can sometimes be smoothed or bonded.
- Replacement if neededDecay is removed, the tooth is built back up if necessary, and a new crown is made from a digital scan.
- Bite checkWe adjust the contacts and bite so the new or recemented crown carries load evenly.
Afterwards
If the crown comes off before you can get here, keep it, keep the tooth clean, and avoid chewing on that side. Do not glue it back yourself with household adhesive; it traps decay under the crown and makes the eventual repair harder.
If getting to follow-up visits is difficult, tell us. We can often combine checks into fewer, longer appointments.
What it costs
Recementing a crown that is still in good condition is a small visit. A replacement is priced as a new crown, and most dental plans cover it at their crown percentage once the original is past the plan's replacement window, commonly five to seven years. We check that window before quoting.
If you are on Medicare, note that it does not cover routine dental treatment. Many supplement plans include a limited dental benefit with an annual cap, and we will check yours before quoting anything.
In their own words
Hear from Dr. Carter Lee
Dr. Lee on fixing only what needs fixing, and what it is like to hand a patient the mirror after a smile transformation.
Questions we get asked
Can you just glue my old crown back on?
Often, yes, if the crown is intact and the tooth underneath is healthy. We check both before recementing.
Why does my crowned tooth hurt?
Common causes are decay at the margin, a crack in the tooth, a high bite, or a nerve that is failing. An x-ray and a bite test usually tell which.
How far is your office from Porters Neck?
About 13 miles, or roughly 22 minutes via Market Street (US-17) or I-140 to MLK Jr. Parkway. We are at 1301 Physicians Dr in Wilmington, with parking at the door.
Do you see patients from Porters Neck?
Regularly. Porters Neck is part of our core service area in New Hanover County, and this is the kind of restorative work we do most: patients who kept their teeth a long time and now want a plan that holds for the next twenty years.
What are your hours?
Monday through Thursday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, and Friday, 8:00am to 12:00pm. Outside those hours, leave a message or use the appointment request form and we will come back to you with the first available time.
Crown Repair & Replacement · Porters Neck, NC
Call. Do not wait it out.
We keep time open each morning for urgent cases. Monday through Thursday, 8:00 to 5:00, and Friday, 8:00 to 12:00.
- Same-day appointments where the schedule allows
- Emergency patients seen whether or not you are established here
- Extractions and oral surgery on site
- Pain relief first, permanent plan second
Not sure it counts as an emergency? Call and describe it. We will tell you.
Request an appointment
We reply the next business day.
Please do not include Protected Health Information. For anything urgent, call (910) 762-0958.
