Listen or Read Dr. Vitale’s Monthly Podcast Interview!
Topic – Dental Crowns
Below you will find an easy to read transcript of Dr. John Vitale’s interview on the razorcast™ monthly podcast. You can either watch the video to listen to the podcast or simply read the easy to follow transcripts below. Enjoy!
Podcast Interview:
RC: Hello everyone, this is Liz Harvey coming to you from our razorcast™ studios in New York City where we are dedicated to bringing you top quality advice from many of the leading expert professionals across the United States.
In today’s episode we are speaking with Dr. John Vitale. Dr. Vitale is the founder of Dr. John R. Vitale, DMD at Port Liberte, a general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry practice in Jersey City, New Jersey. He has an extensive dental background that began at Iona College and then at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. Vitale has been practicing in the area for over 35 years and he is a member of the International Congress of Implantology. He is also certified in BOTOX® and dermal fillers and he continues his education in the dental field with monthly classes. Dr. Vitale has also had the pleasure of traveling to Honduras and Panama to provide charity dental care to needy patients.
Dr. Vitale is widely considered to be one of the top dentists in the country and he is also a contributing member of our national network of industry professionals.
Today we are going to talk about a very important topic: Dental Crowns
RC: Hi Dr. Vitale. How are you today?
Dr. John Vitale: I’m fine, thank you, how are you doing?
RC: I’m doing great. Thanks so much for joining us today!
Dr. John Vitale: My pleasure.
Question 1: What is a dental crown and are there different kinds?
RC: My first question is what is a dental crown and are there different kinds? Can you talk about that with us?
Dr. John Vitale: Certainly. A dental crown is in layman’s terms, a full covering over a tooth. There are many types of different crowns. All porcelain crowns are one type; porcelain crowns bonded to metal are another type of crown; solid metal crowns are a third type; acrylic crowns are a fourth; and combinations of all of those would make a fifth. So there are very varied amounts of dental crowns.
Question 2: What are some reasons people need dental crowns?
RC: Okay and what are some of the reasons people need dental crowns?
Dr. John Vitale: The primary reasons why people need dental crowns is threefold.
Number one – Decay. Sometimes dental decay in the tooth is so extensive that there are cusps missing or too much of the tooth structure has to be removed in order to get all of the decay removed from the tooth and so you have to cover them.
Another reason would be as a result of trauma. Sometimes, like my young son who got hit in the mouth with a bat playing ball one day and he broke a cusp off a tooth. So the tooth was still vital and a crown was in order so we placed the crown.
A third reason would be after a root canal. Generally, the rule of thumb is anytime you have a root canal on your mouth, you should have a post placed into your mouth and a crown placed on top of it to protect the tooth and the previous procedures.
Question 3: Does a crowned tooth require special care?
RC: Okay and does a crowned tooth require any special care?
Dr. John Vitale: No more special care than you would be required to take care of your regular teeth, your normal teeth. They should be brushed, they should be flossed and taken care of just like you would take care of your regular teeth. They are not different. They look like, they feel like and they act like your normal tooth.
RC: Okay great. That’s good to know.
Question 4: Could any problems develop with a tooth that is crowned?
RC: Now could any problems develop with a tooth that is crowned? Does it maybe chip away or turn colors? Are there any potential problems people might worry about?
Dr. John Vitale: The same problems that could occur with your normal tooth could also occur with a crown. Namely, normal teeth die for different reasons like constantly chewing on ice or constant exposure to heat and cold. When we drink hot teas or cold ice cream, sometimes a nerve would get damaged on a normal tooth and a root canal would have to be performed. It’s not the norm but it does happen. The same could happen with a crown tooth. Sometimes when you’re eating something like chicken, you happen to be gnawing on a chicken bone or you bite into something that has a pit in it or something. You could fracture your tooth and you could fracture the crown also.
Basically the strength of the crown that’s placed on your tooth, it parallels the strength of your normal teeth. So whatever could happen to a normal tooth could also happen to a crown. Again it’s not normal, it’s not the normal thing that happens, but it could and it does.
Question 5: How long do dental crowns last?
RC: Okay, so if someone came in and wanted to get a dental crown how long do they last? Could they expect to just come in one time and it’s good for life, kind of like you’re saying like with a regular tooth?
Dr. John Vitale: Well it’s as good as your regular teeth. That is correct. I just saw a patient recently that I put (I think) twenty-eight crowns in her mouth thirty years ago and they look like the day they were placed.
So how long do they last? They last as long as they could last if you’re taking care of them just like anything else. If you’re very judicious in taking care of your teeth – keeping your mouth clean – and you’re fortunate enough not to develop periodontal disease (things like that), then you’re going to take your crowns with you.
Sometimes people with a lot of decay in their mouth end up getting crowns and they watch what they do for about six months then they fall off the beaten path again and go back to their old ways of doing things. Then, they won’t last as long.
But generally if you take care of them, they take care of you.
RC: Okay this has been great information! Thank you so much, Dr. Vitale.
Dr. John Vitale: You’re welcome.
RC: And for our listeners across the country, if you are interested in speaking with Dr. John Vitale, you can either go online at www.drjohnrvitale.com or call 201-521-9800 to schedule an appointment.
On behalf of our entire team at razorcast™, we want to thank you for listening and we look forward to bringing you more top quality content from our country’s leading industry professionals.
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