Here’s how to handle a broken or damaged dental crown.

Today’s dental crowns are made from incredibly durable and lifelike material; however, accidentally biting down on an olive pit or getting hit in the face during a game can lead to a damaged or broken crown. When you’ve cracked your crown, our Chehalis, WA, dentist Dr. Michael White is here to provide you with a new one.

What do I do?

Take a deep breath! A cracked or broken crown is not the end of the world, but it will require you to turn to a dental professional for help. You will not be able to fix a broken or damaged crown on your own so you’ll need to come into our office for repair.

The good news is that a cracked crown is rarely a cause for emergency dentistry. If you are feeling a little sensitivity or discomfort you can take an over-the-counter pain reliever or apply a topical anesthetic (that is designed for oral use) to the gums to help ease your discomfort until you can come into the office; however, if you are dealing with severe or sudden pain, you should see us as soon as possible.

Can you save my crown?

In some instances, yes. When you come into the office we will examine the crown as well as the tooth to make sure that there isn’t anything wrong with the tooth itself. X-rays may be necessary to check the integrity and health of the tooth structure. If the crown just fell off then we can easily cement the crown back into place; however, if the crown is broken or damaged, the best thing we can do is to replace it with a brand new crown.

You will go through the same steps to get your new crown as you did your last one. We will take impressions of your mouth and place a temporary crown until your permanent crown is made and ready to be fitted.

Crowns will need to be replaced, eventually

At some point, your crown will need to be replaced even if it doesn’t become damaged. By maintaining good oral hygiene and by being gentle with your crowned tooth you can keep your crown for up to 10 years or longer; however, it’s also important that you are visiting our Chehalis, WA, restorative dentist every six months so that we can check your crown.

If you are dealing with a damaged or broken restoration it’s important that you have a dentist here in Chehalis that can provide you with immediate dental care. Dr. White is proud to provide comprehensive dentistry to Chehalis, Centralia and all of Lewis County, WA. To schedule an appointment please call us at (360) 748-0168.