Dark lines under dental crowns

May 30, 2019 1:17 PM

I have several crowns in my mouth, virtually all of them many years old. Today I thought I had something between two upper teeth and tried to floss it out. Then I realized that the dark lines were under the two upper crowns and all four lower crowns. What gives?

These lines developed recently. They may be the metal roots of my crowns showing or something else. I assume I need to see a dentist but because of my health anxiety now I'm worried that maybe my gums receded overnight, but that seems odd, creepy, and unlikely. Any ideas, hive mind?

posted by Bella Donna to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Best answer: Dark lines that develop over a short period of time could simply be stain. coffee, tea, minerals in tap water can all leave a dark deposit. it usually comes off with dental "cleaning" by a hygienist.

My experience is that most people don't really intimately know what the inside of their own mouth looks like. Gums don't often recede overnight, but the gradual movement could expose things you haven't noticed before. Things like the metal edge of your crowns or tooth decay.

Yes, you should have it checked. It's not necessarily urgent, but there's no price for peace of mind.
posted by OHenryPacey at 1:32 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: How many years old? I ask because if they’re in the 15+ years old area, you are probably right and they’re metal. That is fine for a while, but as we age our gums tend to recess and the bluish metal underneath can be exposed which shows as dark lines.

I don’t see any other option than going to the dentist to get an opinion. You can probably determine for yourself whether you’re looking at gum recession, but you can’t fix that yourself. You’ll need new crowns.
posted by jay2dadub at 7:15 PM on May 30, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Just as another data point I have this on one of my crowns. It’s always been there but maybe gotten a tiny bit bigger as my gums have unfortunately receded a bit.

I did see a dentist very recently for a normal checkup and he told me that the crown was in excellent condition, was inserted very well, and serve me well for a quite a while longer (I’ve had it for over 15 years). I had xrays done and when we reviewed them he did not think there was any need to replace.
posted by like_neon at 1:39 AM on May 31, 2019

Best answer: I know what you mean. The base of my crowns seems to be a different material, and some of it is just barely visible at the gumline. They have been like this since new, so it's not the gums receding. I'm guessing that there's a different material that either adheres to the glue better or stabilises the crown It feels completely smooth .when I run my tongue along the edge. These crowns are 15 years old now, and I've had at least 5 dentists since then, and no one has ever commented on this.
posted by amusebuche at 3:25 PM on May 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: You’re fine; file this under “schedule an appointment in the next few weeks”, nothing to urgently mess with or lose sleep over.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:34 PM on May 31, 2019

Best answer: I have this. It’s the metal underneath the porcelain coating of the crowns on my molars. I have one crown on a premolar that does not have metal. They put the metal based ones on you molars because those teeth get the most wear and tear chewing.
posted by fozzie_bear at 12:59 PM on June 1, 2019

Response by poster: Will see my dentist soon. Many thanks for the reassurance/perspective, all!
posted by Bella Donna at 6:27 AM on July 1, 2019 [1 favorite]