How do I know if I have a problem with my crown? One issue may be that your floss is shredding or catching in the area of your crown. This could mean the crown cement that was used to hold it in place on the tooth has begun to wash out. This happens over time and is quite common. It’s easy to think that once a crown is placed to repair a tooth that it is there for the rest of your life. Actually, crowns have a ‘life’ or duration that depends on how well the crown was originally fabricated, how strong the cement is, how well the ‘crown owner’ cares for it (flossing and brushing), and medical factors that can affect the general conditions within the mouth.
It is important to have your crown margins checked at your annual dental exam and if you are unsure if your dentist performs this check, don’t hesitate to ask them. At our office, this is one of many areas Dr Malik checks at least annually, so that we can find any problem areas as soon as possible. If you are wondering about your crowns, give us a call to schedule an initial exam.
Unsealed or leaking crowns are restorative crowns placed in a tooth preparation which have a crown gap. Think of a dinner plate or a drinking glass that has a micro crack. It’s best to throw them away because overtime, bacteria collects in those cracks.
These crowns (or caps) do not actually fit tightly on top of your existing tooth. Badly sealed crowns may look normal at first but as the cement inside the crown is slowly dissolved, unwanted symptoms may show after several months or years. You might think you have a good cap on your tooth, but the problem hides underneath.
The presence of gap or space prevents the tooth crown from completely sealing the whole tooth against acid attacks in the mouth. Without the complete sealing of the margins, the metal crowns, porcelain crowns,or even zirconia crowns could break or fail. Even worse, they can cause more damage to your tooth root underneath. This could result in a root canal or even an extraction.