Caring For Your New Crown
Congratulations on your new crown! A crown rebuilds a tooth that was too damaged or decayed to hold a regular filling, sealing it under a strong layer of porcelain. With the right care at home, a well-made crown can last for many, many years. Here is everything you need to know.
The First Few Days
- Numbness: Avoid chewing until it fully resolves so you do not bite your cheek, lip, or tongue.
- Sensitivity is normal. Mild sensitivity to cold or pressure can last a few days to a couple of weeks as the tooth settles. This fades on its own.
- Tender gums around the tooth are normal for a day or two. Warm salt water rinses help soothe them.
If You Have a Temporary Crown
Your final crown is custom-made at a lab, so you may go home with a temporary. Treat it gently until the real one is seated.
- Avoid sticky and hard foods like gum, caramel, taffy, and ice that can pull it loose.
- Chew on the other side whenever you can.
- Floss carefully. Slide the floss out sideways rather than popping it straight up, so you do not lift the temporary off.
- If it comes off, save it and call us. Do not wait, the tooth can shift and the final crown may not fit.
Eating & Comfort
- Wait until all numbness is gone before you eat.
- With a temporary, stick to softer foods and skip anything sticky or very hard.
- Once your final crown is cemented, eat normally. It is built to handle full chewing.
- For lingering sensitivity, a sensitivity toothpaste such as Sensodyne helps it resolve faster.
Call Us If
- Your bite feels high or uneven once the numbness wears off. This is a quick adjustment and you should not live with it.
- Sensitivity or pain is getting worse after a week instead of better.
- Your temporary or final crown comes loose or falls off.
- You notice swelling or a bad taste that will not go away.
How To Make Your Crown Last As Long As Possible
Here is the most important thing to understand: the porcelain crown itself cannot get a cavity. Bacteria cannot eat through it. But they can get underneath it at the gum line. That is the one place a crown is vulnerable, so that is exactly where you focus.
- Keep the gum line spotless. Brush right where the crown meets the gum, on both the cheek side and the tongue side. That is where bacteria try to sneak underneath.
- Floss the front and the back of the crown every day to clear out what the brush cannot reach.
- Keep your regular cleanings. This is how we clean below the gum line and underneath the crown far more thoroughly than you can at home. It is the single biggest factor in how long your crown lasts.
Do these three things and your crown can protect your tooth for decades!
Questions about your crown or your recovery? Call the office anytime. We are here for you!
