Dental crowns are prosthetic tooth covers made of metal, porcelain, or composite materials that look exactly like your natural tooth. Your dentist may slip on a customized dental crown if your natural tooth has been:
Approximately 95% of dental crowns are still in place, doing their job of protecting your tooth, at least five years after insertion. Anywhere from 50-80% last at least 20 years. What happens, though, if your crown breaks or you outlive its patency?
At Union Square Dental, Kateryna Grytsenko, DDS, and her dental team recognize that sometimes a dental crown must be replaced. Even if you care for your crown diligently, it may get cracked or broken in an accident, or it may simply yield to wear and tear.
Do you need to replace your dental crown? Following are some signs that you might.
Whether you bit a hard object, such as a nut, or your crown has given way due to long years of wear and tear, as soon as you notice a crack or break in the crown, call your dentist. A broken crown may develop sharp edges that could injure the soft tissues in your mouth.
If the crack or chip is small, we may be able to repair the crown with tooth-colored resin. If the break is extensive or puts the crown in danger, we recommend replacement.
A loose crown is annoying but potentially dangerous for your oral health, too. When the cement that holds the crown in place wears or washes away, bacteria can invade the space between the crown and the modified tooth underneath.
Though you may be able to hold the crown in place with dental adhesive, that isn’t a good or safe long-term solution. Contact us right away, so we can re-apply or replace the crown.
Just as natural teeth can get knocked out, so can a crown. In addition, if the underlying adhesive completely dissolves, a loose crown can become a missing crown.
If your crown comes off, clean it with fresh water. Cement it back in place with dental adhesive and contact us immediately. The crown needs to be re-inserted or completely refitted and replaced.
Your crown may have cracks or chips that you can’t even see. Or, it’s loose in an area that you haven’t yet noticed. Loose and broken crowns allow bacteria from food to get into your gums and teeth, causing cavities and gum disease.
A bad taste in your mouth or foul breath could be a sign of an infection. Never ignore bad breath or bad taste in your mouth. Your dentist can quickly identify the source of the smell and treat the condition causing it.
If you have a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown, you may begin to notice a dark line at the bottom of your crown, just over the gum line. Though this is not a sign that anything is wrong with your crown, it makes your crown look less natural.
Gum recession may be the reason that this part of your dental crown is now visible. We evaluate the crown in the office and may recommend replacing it with a crown made solely of porcelain or ceramic.
Not all crowns can be replaced. If you have an infection under the crown, or if the tooth underneath is decayed, you may need an extraction and a dental implant instead. Nevertheless, the sooner you come to see us, the sooner we can fix the problem and safeguard your oral health.
Do you have a crown that may have seen the end of its days? Phone our friendly staff, or use our online scheduler for a dental crown replacement today.
