Dental Emergencies: A Crown Falls Off
It’s a holiday, you’re out of town, you bite into a caramel, and there’s something crunchy in your mouth.
You spit the crunchy stuff out and discover it’s a permanent crown. You don’t think you can get to your dentist for a few days. What do you do?
You spit the crunchy stuff out and discover it’s a permanent crown. You don’t think you can get to your dentist for a few days. What do you do?
Saving A Crown
According to WebMD and Colgate, see your dentist as soon as possible and have it re-cemented, if possible.
Leaving the crown out for a long time is a bad decision. The tooth can drift, usually forward and toward the opposing arch.
The teeth drift very fast — even in a couple of days. So, on the short term, Chapstick works very well. There are also temporary cements available in the drug store, but I like Chapstick. Just
place a small amount inside the crown and you can keep it in your mouth for up to a couple of weeks.
The teeth drift very fast — even in a couple of days. So, on the short term, Chapstick works very well. There are also temporary cements available in the drug store, but I like Chapstick. Just
place a small amount inside the crown and you can keep it in your mouth for up to a couple of weeks.
If you wait too long, the dentist may not be able to recement the crown, so you may need a new one. Keep in mind that you don’t want to swallow the crown, so if you can get to see a dentist fast that’s the best choice.
See Your Dentist
One situation of concern is if the natural tooth structure is still inside the tooth and there is no longer any tooth to anchor the crown. This situation is more common on front teeth. If there is nothing above the gum line, see your dentist immediately. Chap stick won’t hold the crown since there’s no tooth structure.anchor the crown
In many cases the tooth cannot be saved and the dentist will make recommendations on how to replace that tooth.
If there is still some remaining tooth structure a root canal and post can be done to save the tooth. This procedure gives more space, inside the tooth, to anchor the crown . As long as there is some tooth above the gum line this procedure works very well.