What to Expect During a Dental Crown Replacement Procedure

Are you thinking of having your dental crowns replaced?

Around 92% of adults have some sort of damage sustained on their permanent teeth. This makes it harder for them to do simple things like eating or drinking a cool glass of water as it makes the experience painful. What’s great is that dental crowns are great at fixing these damages.

What happens when those get damaged, too, though? Crowns are often made from materials like resin or porcelain. Any damage can cause injuries to the mouth, which is why there’s a dental crown replacement procedure to undergo.

What should you expect before, during, and after the procedure, though? Check out the guide below to learn what you can about it today! Prepare yourself to avoid any shock and issues during dental crown replacement!

Dental Crown Preparation

In the first visit with your dentist, they will examine and prepare the tooth with the broken crown. They will take x-rays of the tooth or the bone around it to have a better grasp of what they’re dealing with.

This also lets them assess how much damage there is to fix. When there’s too much damage, it often poses a risk of infection to your mouth. It often ends up with a root canal to fix major damages.

With the use of computer-aided design, a new dental crown is easier to make. This utilizes digital dentistry instead of old mechanical methods. This makes the process faster, with the new prosthetics made in only a fraction of the usual time.

Cleaning of the Natural Tooth

Dental crowns are an effective way of repairing a damaged tooth. However, they won’t last forever and will need replacements from time to time. When this happens, you’ll need to have the tooth cleaned.

This is often because you need to remove the hardened material that bound the crown to the tooth before. Removing these is important to ensure everything bound to the tooth is new during the procedure.

Dentists also clean the tooth because there’s still the possibility of tooth decay. Even if it’s fitted with a crown, natural tooth decay can still happen underneath. This makes it important to attend regular check-ups to prevent this from happening on any of your teeth.

Removal of the Old Dental Crown

As part of the dental crown replacement procedure, the dentist will create a space for the crown. The tooth that will receive the crown needs filing down across the top and sides. The material used for the previous crown will determine how long it will take to file it all off.

Metal dental crowns are thinner and don’t need as much of the tooth removed. Porcelain crowns often end up replacing the original tooth. However, these crowns are only bound to the gums.

This means that, if it needs replacing, they only need to remove the crown and replace it with a new one. They’ll only need to secure it to where it should be once again. To prepare a new tooth, though, they’ll need to build the contour of the original tooth.

Building the Original Tooth’s Shape

They model the replacement as close as they can to the original tooth’s shape. This is so that your teeth are uniform in appearance when you smile. Otherwise, it can cause your teeth to look weird when you show them off.

While they’re making a new dental crown for you. The dentist will fit you with a temporary crown until the new crown is ready for fitting. This is to protect the surrounding teeth and maintain the shape that’s filed down.

Placement of a Temporary Crown

It takes a few weeks to build the crown that is to your specifications. Until then you are to wear a temporary crown until the new one is ready. Don’t worry, the temporary one will work well enough for you to go back to your usual routines.

The waiting period may extend up to a month if you have an implant. This is because damage to the crown on an implant often extends to where it’s rooted. Your jaw may be strong, but you need to let it heal to prevent permanent damage to your facial structure.

However, you should know that temporary crowns aren’t as durable as permanent ones. This means that you should take care while you’re eating with a dental crown on. Avoid anything too sticky or hard while you wait for your new dental crown.

Crown Bonding

Once the new crown is ready for fitting, the dentist will remove the temporary crown. Some people experience pain during this part of the procedure. This prompts most dentists to apply anesthetics before dental crown replacement.

Once removed, they will then add cementing material around the tooth. Before it dries, they place the new crown. They’ll then expose the area to UV light to speed up the drying process of the cement.

Taking Care of the Newly Bonded Teeth

The lifespan of dental crowns lasts up to five to fifteen years. Some factors can contribute to it getting damaged sooner than it should.

Crowns are usually resistant to heat and cold temperatures, but constant exposure can damage them. They’ll start degrading in durability, making it easier for somewhat hard foods to chip off some of their materials. It can also cause sensitivity if you have metal fillings in any tooth.

With enough damage to the crown, it can fall off on its own. It can be an alarming thought, but it’s best you keep calm when this happens to prevent stressing your exposed tooth. It’s best to visit websites, like Boisedentist.com, to know how to prevent this from happening to you.

Know Your Dental Crown Replacement Procedure Today

If your dental crown sustains any damage, it’s best that you have it fixed as soon as possible. This guide will tell you what the dental crown replacement procedure entails. Don’t be afraid and book an appointment today!

Knowing what you must do in the event of a broken dental crown is important to ensure oral health. What can you do to prevent it, though? Check out our guides to learn how you can take care of your oral health today!