Galvanic shock and metal crown

Hello
My #18 tooth has been giving me problems since 2005 when I bit into an olive pit and fractured my back left side - this tooth also happens to be the only one I have experienced galvanic shock when my dentist has probed it with his tools will examining my teeth.

I have recently had a temp crown on the tooth and am getting fitted for a perm crown - it is made of metal on the inside and has porcelain metal on the exterior.  My dentist tried to fit the new perm crown 3 times: once it just didn't fit, second he couldn't numb my tooth up at all and then tried to work on it anyway and that resulted in the mirror coming in contact with that tooth which resulted in a shock - the third attempt (after I was sent the next day to get numbed up by the oral surgeon) the crown was not long enough and may have caused a cold sensitivity so I opted to have a new crown made of the right size.

My biggest concern is that interior metal of the crown will cause that shock when the Novocain wears off....My dentist doesn't think it would be a problem, but now I am just too fearful for the attempt.  I didn't need a root canal on the tooth.

Any thoughts? Will it cause the shock? Should I request the crown be made of something else - or will the cement used be the "insulation" needed?

Thank you!!!



This discussion is related to Crown choice & Galvanic shock.

[scottma]

Galvanic electricity is generally caused by the contact between two metal alloy. In the scope of dental restoration. it's generally caused by amalgam filling and other  metal restoration. Porcelain fused to metal crown is not likely to generate galvanic eletricity when seating a crown. However, if there is a amalgam filling within the tooth, metal substructure may contact amalgam filling and generates galvanic shock. Cement may insulate the surface contact between two different metals. Replacement the amalgam filling with other non-metal filling material would definitely resolve the problem,or , deliver a full ceramic crown.

[Lae135]

Hello

I do have amalgam filling in the tooth (#18).  I do believe the interior structure of the metal/porcelain crown would cause a shock as I experience it whenever metal comes in contact with it....my dentist was worried about the thickness of a full porcelain crown and opted for a metal one for strength and wearablility - I am not so sure that is a wise choice. I have several other crowns and never had these issues or been as fearful due to the shock feeling...it is quite intense...

thanks for your comment... :)

[deToxic]

Now I am gonna have a crown soon over a tooth with amalgam filled. So I will do consulting first to make sure the crown is metal free.  As a person with science knowledge, I want to avoid galvanic thing.  Kev.