Damaged Crown

Time needed to be seen: Immediately

Fillings are materials that are used to build your tooth back up after a cavity has been removed. A dental crown is made of porcelain, zirconia, or metal that is used to wrap around weakened teeth to prevent fracture. Sometimes fillings and crowns will fall out. In most cases, decay caused by cavities will form underneath the filling or crown and cause them to dislodge from your tooth.

Often times the exposed tooth surface will be very sensitive to temperature, pressure, or air. If you lose a crown try to keep the crown in a safe place, it may be able to be reused. However, if there is decay that has occurred on the tooth the crown will not be able to be reused. If you wait a long time before you replace your crown the adjacent teeth will start shifting and taking up the space that your crown use to be in, preventing you from being able to fit the most optimum shape crown into the area.

Most common reasons:

-Biting on Hard Food
-Cavities under the filling or crown that has caused underlying structure to be soft

Common Symptoms:

-Cold Sensitivity
-Pain when chewing or eating

What to do until you can get to your dentist’s office:

-Apply a small amount of clove oil to area of tooth, this will give you some pain relief. Clove oil is available over the counter at most drug stores.
-DO NOT USE SUPER GLUE TO GLUE BACK ON YOUR CROWN, THIS WILL CAUSE PERMANENT AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO YOUR TOOTH
-You can go to your local drug store and buy temporary cement to cement back on your crown. If you feel that the area is swollen and hurts, do not use temporary cement to put on the crown. This will cause a more serious infection.

Your Visit will include:

-X-rays will be taken of the affected tooth
-Diagnosis to see if there are any cavities or decay that has formed on the tooth surface

Treatment:

Treatment depends if there is decay present
1) If the crown has dislodged and there area no cavities present, the crown can be permanently cemented again if the integrity of the margins are intact.
2) If the tooth has decay, decay must be removed and a new filling material placed. This changes the structure of the tooth and new porcelain dental crown will need to be made.
3) A replacement filling will typically be completed for teeth that are missing a filling.