Porcelain fused metal crowns height adjustment: when can it compromise the crown?

I just had two PFM crowns inserted (last two teeth at the bottom). After soreness and pain were gone I noticed none of the crowns have the same height my natural teeth have. They are pretty filed down..the back crown feels %26amp; looks almost completely flat. Basically the crowns have no (or very little) cusps and grooves compared to my other teeth. Also, the "stain" the crowns have in the grooves doesn't look natural.





Overall, I feel this is a substandard work. Now, the first question is: if the dentist had to file down the crowns too much, at which point does the crown become compromised? can the porcelain be damaged by filling it down? any structural damage done to the crown?





Second, now what? I can complain to dentist, but in the end, what could be done? Can my insurance help me in fixing this? my benefits only allow for a replacement in five years...

Porcelain fused metal crowns height adjustment: when can it compromise the crown?
The dentist can use porcelain polishing burs to adjust the height of your PFMs. The occlusal, or biting surface, of the crowns consists of a thicker layer of porcelain, so there is little chance of damaging the integrity of the crown; however, if the layer becomes too thin, there is a possibilty of fracturing/chipping the crown. This can happen regardless, and not just on the biting surface.





Don't wait too long to have your dentist make the adjustments. You can have some discomfort if they are not corrected; or even chip the porcelain by exerting pressure on the PFMs if they hit first when you close/chew/bite.





If the office does not have an in-house lab but one that is in your town, you can ask that the lab tech come in to see what the problem is. (Our lab tech is literally down the street from our office; he sometimes comes in prior to treatment to take photos and notes to avoid situations similar to yours.)





Your insurance company should not be involved in this portion of your treatment, as this is just considered an adjustment issue. The work has been completed, the pre-authorization has been taken care of. The ins. co will be involved if this escalates to a re-treat issue.
Reply:Alot of pateints come in with this expatations set to high. If you adjust it to much, by trimming it down you'll expose the metal in the crown and you will see the metal. They are fine there back teeth, no one see's them. I know there not cheap but its your back teeth. All the crowns ive seen look pretty flat and the grooves are very shallow. If you can eat fine, they have served there purpose. Insurances dont care about the beauty of the tooth. You cant prove they did nothing wrong which i doubt they did. Its all you opinoin. They are some really picky patients out there who point out all the bad and just focus on it.
Reply:I have yet to actually see a crown in someones mouth that actually had the realistic cusps and grooves in it as an actual tooth. the grooves give place for bacteria to settle and the cusps arent so strong on a crown. the reason it doesnt look natural is becuase its not. its a crown. if you dont like the work the dentist did then talk to them or get a second opinion somewhere, but I dont know what you could have done about it.

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