3 Steps to Take If You Have a Loose Crown

If you can feel your dental crown shifting when you bite down or chew, bring it up with your dentist sooner rather than later. Here are three things to do when a crown becomes loose.

Dental crowns protect damaged teeth and fillings, and they’re attached with the intent of being as permanent as possible. But most crowns don’t last forever, and many do come loose after years of pressure.

At Bayside Dental Arts, in Bayside, New York, Andrey Ilyabayev, DDS, provides comprehensive dental care including crowns and crown restoration. It’s not uncommon to feel your crown shifting around before it falls out, but you shouldn’t wait for that to happen.

What you should do if you notice a loose crown

While chewing, you might notice a shifting feeling under your tooth as you bite down. A dislodged dental crown isn’t necessarily a situation you need to book an after-hours visit for, but it does warrant concern and immediate action.

Here’s what to do if you feel your crown coming loose.

Avoid wiggling the loosened crown

If your crown is semi-dislodged, you might feel tempted to wiggle it free yourself. Don’t, especially if it caps off a severely damaged tooth. Pulling off the crown exposes everything underneath and can even cause further damage.

Cover your crown and tooth in sugar-free gum

The biggest concern with a loose crown is tooth decay and infection. When a crown comes loose, bacteria can become trapped underneath or against the gums.

You can encase your entire tooth in chewing gum to seal it off as much as possible until you can get a replacement. Just be sure to use sugar-free gum, or you’re just encouraging bacteria growth.

Call the dentist right away

Just because the crown hasn’t fallen out yet doesn’t mean you can postpone a dental appointment. The space within a loose crown can become a breeding ground for bacteria, so contact us ASAP for an appointment to get it replaced before your tooth is affected.

Loose or dislodged crowns are considered dental emergencies, even if they aren’t urgent.

Getting a proper crown replacement

It might be tempting to wait for the crown to fall out and then cement back in place yourself. While some people do manage to put their crowns back in, we don’t recommend this kind of improvised dentistry. It doesn’t last long, and you risk infection.

Over-the-counter dental cement is not as strong as what we use professionally, and dentists must thoroughly clean the tooth and gumline before replacing the crown. A proper crown replacement will last at least 5-15 years, though some can last up to 30 years.

Do you have a loose crown? Schedule a visit with Dr. Ilyabayev by calling us at Bayside Dental Arts in Bayside, Queens, at 315-908-0804, or request an appointment online.