Any dentists in?

[RizzoTheRat]

I had a front tooth crown that had cracked, and went in the other day for the firsts phase of taking the old crown off, measuring up for the new one, and then fitting a temporary crown.

I didn't feel I could keep bombarding him with questions, but as an engineer I'm interested in the process.

Am I right in thinking he pushed some kind of thin cord in to the gum around the stump, does this stay in as some kind of barrier? I can see a darker patch where the temporary cap meets the gum I assume that's it?
He then coated the stump in something that they used IR to cure, is that a protective barrier or something to make sure it's completely clean?
There was a spring loaded clamp at one point that felt like it was pushing the teeth either side of the stump apart, was that just for better access to the sides?
I was quite impressed by the simple process of making the temporary cap, they made a mould with the old cap in place, and then once they'd finished put some kind of 2 part epoxy looking stuff in the mould and put it back over my teeth to cure.

[Mr Pointy]

If you're interested in the engineering side of teeth then implants are the place to look. They basically screw a helicoil into your jaw bone & fix the crown to it using a stretch bolt & the worlds smallest torque wrench.

https://online-dental.uk/products/ra-shank-ratchet

[cheeky_chops]

RizzoTheRat said:

I didn't feel I could keep bombarding him with questions, but as an engineer I'm interested in the process.

What field? Ive worked for a dental company for a few years and the biology, engineering, chemistry and now technology (scanning, printing etc) that goes on in the mouth is pretty amazing.

[RizzoTheRat]

Aeronautical, so a little different. For starters you can can assume a level of standardisation between parts that anyone working with biological stuff can only dream of