In article ,
Abrasha wrote:
Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
wrote:
On Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:44:26 GMT, Grant Erwin
wrote:
Tom Gardner wrote:
"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
news:1e4mk.309$xv.240@trnddc02...
I had a tooth extracted today. It had been crowned with gold. They gave
me
back the gold crown, tooth still in it of course.
I seem to recall hearing that Coca-Cola actually dissolves teeth. Is
that
a workable solution to removing the old tooth from the gold crown? Is
there a better one?
Grant
Hammer.
That's kind of what I am thinking. I'll try that tomorrow, let you know
what happened.
Grant
A propane torch will just burn out the tooth from the gold.
Beware mercury fumes. The gold in crowns may be or contain mercury-gold
amalgam, not just gold-copper casting alloy.
Joe Gwinn
Gold crowns are not made from amalgams. Gold amalgams are used for
fillings. Silver amalgam fillings are always removed before a tooth is
crowned.
The reason that an amalgam filled tooth gets a crown in the first place,
is mostly, that there is new decay around or even under the filling, so
the tooth has to be cleaned and the amalgam is removed to make place for
either an inlay, overlay or a full crown. You cannot prep a tooth
properly for a crown, with the amalgam still in place.
It not necessary to put a torch to a tooth with a crown still on it.
Since the tooth has already been extracted, it will have become brittle
rather rapidly, because it is no longer fed by blood vessels and nerves.
Just take a pair of pliers to it, and it'll break in pieces quite easily.
BTW, before I became a goldsmith, I spent three years in dental school
at the university of Amsterdam trying to become a dentist.
I don't doubt that you have described how it is supposed to be. But the
world isn't perfect, and there is no cost to being a little cautious
while heating the gold alloy. It might be contaminated if the dentist
didn't get all the amalgam out.
Joe Gwinn