How To Protect Your Dental Crown
A dental crown is a restorative device that surrounds the natural crown of a tooth. The prosthetic crown, which is also called a cap, can be made of a wide variety of materials, including stainless steel, porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal, resin, or gold.
Dental crowns can be used in many different restorative applications, such as the repair of a fractured or decayed tooth. Additionally, a crown is needed to cover a dental implant during a single-tooth replacement.
Regardless of the reason that a dental crown is used, the device can become damaged if protective measures are not taken. Here are a few things that you can do to keep your dental crown in great shape:
Avoid Overly Chewy Foods
A dental crown is cemented into place. Thus, it can withstand a large amount of force. However, the pulling force from overly chewy foods can sometimes pull a dental crown from a tooth.
Foods, such as taffy and caramel, may need to be avoided. If you feel that a food is too chewy for your dental crown, consider eating something else.
If a dental crown is pulled from a tooth, you should contact your dentist to have the crown put back into position. The dentist can use a special cement to affix the crown to the tooth again.
Wear a Night Guard
If you grind your teeth at night, you should wear a night guard when you sleep. The guard not only protects your natural teeth, but it also protects your dental crowns. The force of dental grinding can be severe enough to crack or chip a dental crown.
Rinse After Consuming Dark Foods and Drinks
If you eat or drink deeply pigmented foods and have a tooth-colored crown, it is best to rinse your mouth with water immediately after consuming the dark substances. Like natural tooth enamel, porcelain and resin can become stained by dark-colored pigments. The longer that the dark substances are allowed to rest on the dental crown, the greater the potential for discoloration.
Dental crowns that are tooth-colored are matched to the color of your natural teeth. Therefore, significant discoloration can cause a crown to become more noticeable in the mouth, especially if your teeth are whitened after the crown's installation. Teeth-whitening applications do not whiten crowns and other dental work.
If you are interested in learning more ways to protect your dental crowns, schedule an appointment with a dentist in your local area, like Serene Smiles Dentistry.
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