Adjusting To Life With Your New Dental Crown

When a patient suffers serious damage to a tooth, the application of a dental crown can be the only way to save the tooth and repair the damage. A dental crown may be a routine treatment for dentists to perform, but it will still be a major change for patients. As a result, they will have to take some steps for adjusting to life wearing their new dental crown.

Chew Slowly After First Receiving The Crowns

While your dentist will take great care to ensure the dental crown matches your current tooth as closely as possible, you will inevitably notice a change in your bite. In most instances, this should only be a minor change. However, it will still take some adjusting on your part. Otherwise, you could bite your tongue or cheeks and even damage your tooth. For the first several days, limiting yourself to eating soft foods and take additional time when chewing can help to adjust to life with a dental crown.

Avoid Grinding Your Teeth

Some individuals will have the habit of grinding their teeth. Often, this can be done in response to feeling stressed or angry. Additionally, some people will simply do this in their sleep. Unfortunately, the pressure from grinding your teeth can be extremely intense. In fact, it can be enough to cause major damage to the crown. It can take a strong effort on your part to break yourself of this habit, but it will be necessary for avoiding damaging the crown and your other teeth. For those that grind their teeth while they are sleeping, there are mouthguards that can be worn that are comfortable enough to allow you to fall asleep while still protecting the teeth.

Contact Your Dentist If There Are Any Changes In The Crown

Once the crown has been placed, it should be extremely secure. However, it can be possible for the adhesive that holds the crown to the tooth to fail. This can lead to the crown loosening or otherwise fitting differently. In most cases, a patient will become aware of this change fairly soon, and seeking immediate evaluation by a dentist may allow for the crown to be repaired before it must be replaced. Sadly, some of these issues can be subtle enough to go unnoticed. However, if you are having your crown evaluated by a dentist each year, it is likely that these issues will be found before they can create major issues for your mouth.


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