What you need to know before getting a Temporary Crown

Dental procedures are advancing by each passing day and have become one of the most studied subjects in the world recently. More and more people are now understanding the need to have healthy teeth and dental hygiene as dental problems are exceedingly painful and very expensive to fix as well. Thus there was the rising of dental health sciences which eventually gave birth to many life saving dental procedures for those who need to redo or replenish their dental adversities. Dental health includes regular visits to the dentist or the dental hygienist for scaling, tooth check up, gum health, cavities and other tooth damage that may cause adverse effects to dental health of a patient.

Tooth Crowns

Tooth Crowns or Dental Crowns are artificial teeth that are created using a mould to fit the missing or damaged tooth of a patient. In this method, a teeth resembling material is moulded in the exact shape of the teeth that need replacement. A crown may either be permanent or temporary. Permanent crowns are made from expensive material that do not break under pressure or day to day activity and are suitable for usage upto 10 years. They are usually made from porcelain, steel, metal fused with gold, silver or zirconium etc. These crowns are much expensive but are also very durable.

Temporary crowns

Temporary crowns are made to fit the tooth that needs replacing with a permanent crown. Temporary crowns make sure that the tooth that is damaged or rotten or broken is not further damaged when there is chewing or eating which is unavoidable. In a usual procedure, the tooth is scaled down from the sides and the top after removing the plaque or the infected part in the tooth. This is then measured with a dental mould by a dentist which is then fit by a temporary crown. The temporary crowns protects the week and damaged scaled down teeth as the permanent crown is prepared by the dental lab. It forms a protective layer to the damaged tooth and prevents any further damage from the exterior elements such as chewing while eating and drinking cold or hot drinks.

Temporary crowns is made from acrylic resins or chemical composites. This material is safe for mounting on the original tooth and is also safe for residing in the mouth. The temporary crowns is pretty sturdy and strong but needs special attention and care. You need to know a few do's and don'ts before you actually get your temporary crowns and this actually is good practice before you get your permanent crown.

Do's and Don'ts for Temporary Crowns

  • Be careful how and what you eat

The first important step for temporary crowns is that you must be really careful when you eat - choose not to indulge in hard meat, sticky food like toffees and candies, sugary food such as cold ice creams and beverages, very hot beverage such as coffee or tea, crunchy vegetables such as carrots and apples or hard food such as chicken legs and wings etc.

  • Don't indulge in extremely cold or hot food

The temporary crown is fit by a glue and therefore may not be very good to handle extremely differing temperatures in food. It's best to avoid extremely hot drinks or food such as tea and coffee and extreme cold food such as ice cold beverages and ice cream. This may not be suitable for the integrity of your temporary crown and might end up loosening the crown.

  • Be careful when you brush your teeth

Since the glue is not meant to be permanent and needs to be able to come off when the dentist wants to replace it for a permanent crown, one must be very careful while brushing teeth. Be gentle in the area where the temporary crown is fit as you do not want the crown to loosen and fall off, although unlikely. Flossing around the teeth must also be done very carefully as the teeth do have gaps since it is not fitted perfectly to the space of the original teeth. The flossing action may cause harm to the fitment of the temporary crown.

Advantages of temporary crown

Once you complete a root canal treatment or the removal of a broken or damaged teeth, your dentist is likely to fit a temporary crown on top of the original teeth so as to protect the teeth from damage and to make sure there is no gap in the teeth visually before you get your permanent crown. Now since the crown is only temporary, make sure that you take good care of it as it might take as long as one to two weeks for your dentist to receive the permanent crown.

The temporary crown helps in many ways both for the patient as well as the doctor -

  1. A temporary crown helps the patient by having a cover over the damaged or broken teeth so that his day to day activities such as eating and drinking are not hampered.
  2. A temporary crown helps the dentist to understand how a crown would behave inside the jawline and If there is any observations, the same can be utilised and changed for the permanent crown
  3. A temporary crown helps in avoiding awkwardness of not having a tooth especially if the tooth is in the front in a prominent position
  4. A temporary crown protects the original tooth from further damage especially after a treatment or after the tooth has been scaled down by the dentist
  5. A temporary crown helps the dentist to prepare the permanent crown with more precision as he can understand the way the temporary crown fits in the mouth and behaves.

Conclusion

A temporary crowns has multiple benefits and helps the patient in the transition between the dental procedure and the actual permanent crown. In many cases, a temporary crown behaves just like a permanent crown but also has a lot of difference when it comes to structural integrity and longevity of the crown. It also helps the dentist in preparing the best permanent crown for the patient based on how the temporary crown behaves on the patient.