Expert: Miguel Rodriguez, DDS, MBA - 11/30/2006

Question
I have had some on and off pain for about three days. Tonight I woke up with shooting pains, and I got up to apply anbesol to the area, take some ibuprofen, and inspect the tooth. The problem tooth has a crown on it, and thus there is no sign of a cavity etc, but right where my tooth meets my gums there is a bluish grey line, and it has me very concerned. I cannot find any literature on this.  What's wrong?

Answer
Well, you probably got the crown fitted onto a living tooth, so the time now has come when your tooth is asking for a root canal treatment: for some reason, the pulp of the tooth is swollen, and root canal work might be the only solution.

Regarding the bluish line, that is very normal in metalo-ceramic crowns. The visible part of the crown is made from a porcelain that is similar, color-wise, to your teeth, but the inner hull or core of it is metal. This alloy can, and usually will, stain any soft tissue it comes in contact with. This is sometimes called gum tattooing. It is not harmful, but it is esthetically displeasing. The only way (that I know of) to eliminate it is by periodontic surgery, but this will alter your gumline and make it stand out probably even more.