Did Your Dental Crown Fall Out? Follow These 4 Steps
Posted on: 20 May 2016
You could be eating a meal and suddenly realize your tooth doesn't feel right to you. Chances are that your dental crown fell out unexpectedly, and now you don't know what to do. Thankfully, dental crowns can be saved and placed back into your mouth. Follow these 4 steps to know what you should do in this situation.
Assess The Situation
You will most likely feel or hear something that will make you stop chewing and think about what is loose in your mouth. Remove the crown from your mouth and get a good look at it. Make sure that it is still in one solid piece and that it doesn't have any food stuck on it. Place the crown somewhere safe and then gently brush the area with the missing crown to clean it. It helps to swish mouthwash to remove any food particles that may be stuck in the tooth.
Buy A Temporary Adhesive
You will need a temporary dental adhesive to put the crown back in place until you can see your dentist. Your local drug store should have everything that you need. Look for temporary dental cement, and if you cannot find that, you should get denture paste. The paste is very sticky, but will only hold a crown in place for a couple of days at most.
Reseat Your Crown
If your crown is on a front tooth, it should be easy to figure out what part of the crown faces the front and what part faces the back since you can get a good look at the shape of the tooth. For crowns on other teeth, it will probably be more difficult. You should use a mirror to help see, and have someone point a flashlight in your mouth while you very carefully handle the crown. It will take some trial and error to determine the proper direction, but stop if you encounter any pain in the process.
Apply The Temporary Adhesive
With the direction of the crown determined, use the temporary adhesive to stick the crown onto your tooth. Follow the directions on the adhesive for best results. Make sure not to chew with that tooth until you can see a dentist, since temporarily reattaching the crown is just to prevent the area from becoming infected and irritated.
You should make an appointment to see a cosmetic dentist immediately so that they can permanently reset the crown on your tooth.
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