A dislodged crown that came off a patient from Milford, CT who came to our office in Orange.
A dislodged crown is when a dental crown (also called a cap) comes off the tooth to which it was cemented. This can result in a sensitive tooth as well as a toothless smile! This can happen to all ceramic crowns as well as porcelain/metal ones. This is a fairly common dental emergency that we see in our office in Orange, CT.
If this happens to you, you should try to see a dentist soon to prevent damage to the tooth or shifting of the adjacent teeth. Do not attempt to place the crown back on with products such as Krazy Glue! There are drugstore temporary cements that you can use until you can see us.
Reasons Crowns Come Off
Dental crowns can dislodge for numerous different reasons:
- Trauma in which an object strikes the tooth or the patient bites into something really hard.
- Dental decay (also known as cavities) that can sometimes form underneath. This is also called recurrent decay.
- Weakening of the cement that can occur over many years.
- Eating of sticky foods such as caramels, Gummy Bears, Jolly Ranchers, etc. which can pull the crown off the tooth.
- Changes in your bite (also called occlusion).
- Improper preparation of the tooth underneath the crown.
- And other reasons.
When a patient comes to us with a dislodged crown, we always try to understand why it came off! It came off for a reason, and if we don’t understand why it failed to begin with, it will likely come off again. As they say, those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it!
Our Re-Cementation Process
As stated earlier, we first try to understand why the crown came off. Not all crowns can be re-cemented. Those with extensive decay underneath, teeth with severe gum disease, teeth with fractures are all situations in which re-cementation will not be successful. In these cases, those tooth may need to be extracted and have an implant placed.
- Analysis of why the crown failed. We will take an x-ray in nearly all cases. We will examine the tooth in great detail.
- Cleaning of all residual cement and other debris from the crown. We may also acid etch or sandblast the crown.
- Try-in to make sure it still fits over the tooth.
- Analysis of the occlusion or the bite.
- Cleaning of the tooth.
- Application of cement and placement on the tooth.
- Cleaning up of the excess cement and verification that the bite is still appropriate.
By following the above steps, we ensure that the crowns we re-cement will remain on a long time. If your crown has come off, feel free to call us at (203) 799 2929 or visit our Appointment Page.
