A temporary crown is incredibly useful while you await your permanent crown. But did you know that you should take special care with your temporary crown? Being cautious about your new temporary crown can avoid additional dental visits and make your time before your permanent crown more pleasant.

Why Do I Need a Temporary Crown?

You may require a crown to treat a broken tooth or a tooth that has had several or very large fillings. Crowns are an excellent treatment option, as they are durable, preserve your underlying tooth, and can even look very much like your natural teeth.

However, in order to function well and check all these boxes, crowns need to be custom-made for you. This means the wait time between when your dentist prepares and takes an impression of your tooth and the time the crown is fabricated will often be a few weeks.

During this time, you will have a temporary crown. Because this crown is meant to be easily removed and not intended to be long-term, it will be more fragile than your permanent crown and require more careful attention.

What to Eat

For the most part, your temporary crown will act like a normal tooth. It will help you to chew your food and protect the internal tooth tissue. However, since the temporary crown adhesive is not as strong as a permanent crown (again, this is so it can be easily removed), it may be more susceptible to coming loose.

Foods to Avoid

It is a good idea to avoid sticky, chewy, or hard foods during this brief time with a temporary crown. Food that may pose potential issues include:

• Tough meats and jerky
• Hard or sticky candy or gum
• Crusty bread
• Crunchy veggies
• Foods you bite into like corn on the cob, pizza, and apples

Temperature

Extremely hot or cold foods can cause the materials of the crown to contract or expand. This can compromise the strength of the crown’s attachment to your tooth structure. For the time being, let your coffee cool a bit before sipping and steer clear of extremely cold drinks and foods as well.

Brushing and Flossing With a Temporary Crown

You will certainly want to brush and floss as often as you normally would. Oral hygiene is extra important with a temporary crown as the fit may not be perfect and may allow sugar and other troublesome debris to get into the spaces you don’t want it to be.

On the other hand, you do not want to be too rough when brushing a fragile temporary crown. Brush gently in that particular area of the mouth. Be extremely cautious flossing the crowned tooth; sliding the floss gently around the tooth, so you do not accidentally dislodge your crown.

If Your Temporary Crown Gets Loose or Comes Off

Even with diligent care, you may notice your crown is becoming loose, or it could come off completely. Don’t worry; we can re-glue it to your tooth for a secure fit or replace it with a new one if it is lost.

It is very important not to leave your tooth exposed without your temporary crown. The shape can change, making your incoming permanent crown fit worse, or you can get an infection in the area, which will set back your treatment even further.

If you have a temporary crown and it breaks or falls out, contact us right away, and we’ll assist you as soon as possible. The last thing we want is for you to have a gap in your smile during the restoration process!