Taking care of your dental crowns is just as important as looking after your natural teeth. Maybe you’ve recently gotten a crown and are wondering how to keep it in top condition. Or perhaps you’re noticing that not taking the right steps can lead to issues down the line.
Dental crowns need love too!
This article will guide you on how to maintain your oral hygiene with a focus on caring for your dental crowns—from brushing and flossing techniques to what foods you should avoid.
We’ve got tips that will help extend the life of your crown while maintaining a beautiful smile. Let’s keep those crowns shining!
What are Dental Crowns?
Definition
A dental crown acts as a cap placed over a damaged tooth. It restores the tooth’s shape, size, strength, and appearance. Crowns protect teeth that can’t be restored with fillings or other types of restorations.
They are made from various materials, including metal, porcelain, resin, or ceramic. Each material offers different benefits in durability and aesthetic appeal.
Getting a permanent crown usually involves two visits to the dentist. The first visit prepares the tooth for the crown, while the second places the custom-made crown over the tooth.
Reasons for Getting Them
- restore damaged teeth
- protect weak teeth from breaking
- cosmetic reasons: cover misshaped, discolored teeth, or improve smile’s appearance
- support system for dental bridges
- tooth decay
- covering dental implants
Procedure Details
Understanding why you might need a dental crown bridges us to the next step: the procedure details. First, your dentist prepares your tooth for the crown by reshaping it and removing any decay.
This ensures a perfect fit for the crown. They then take an impression of your tooth using a special material or digital scanner. This impression goes to a dental lab where they craft your custom crown to match your natural teeth in color and shape.
While you wait for your permanent crown, which usually takes two weeks, you’ll wear a temporary one to protect the prepared tooth. Once ready, you return to the dentist’s office, where they remove the temporary and fix the permanent crown onto your tooth with a special adhesive.
How to Care for Your Dental Crowns
To keep your dental crowns in top shape, you’ll need to follow a few key oral care steps. Let’s explore how an effective oral hygiene routine can protect your investment and support your overall dental health.
Oral Hygiene Practices
Good oral hygiene practices are the foundation of dental crown care. You should brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush to avoid damaging the crown’s surface.
Flossing daily helps remove food debris and plaque from between teeth and under the gum line, places where your toothbrush can’t reach. This routine not only keeps your dental crowns in top condition but also supports overall oral health.
Also, treating bruxism or avoiding habits like biting nails prevents undue stress on your crowns. Scheduling regular dental visits allows professionals to clean areas you might miss and check the integrity of your crowns, ensuring they last for many years.
Proper Brushing Techniques
Proper brushing techniques play a crucial role in caring for your dental crowns. You should use a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste.
This combination is gentle on both natural teeth and crowns, preventing wear while still fighting plaque. Brush twice daily for two minutes each time, ensuring you cover all surfaces of your teeth and crowns.
Use short, gentle strokes focusing on the gum line where plaque tends to accumulate. Don’t forget the back of your last molars and areas around dental crowns where bacteria can hide.
Changing your toothbrush every three months or sooner if the bristles start to fray ensures effectiveness in cleaning and protecting your dental work during each professional cleaning session.
Importance of Flossing
Flossing plays a crucial role in the care of dental crowns, just as it does with natural teeth. This daily habit helps remove plaque and food particles from places your toothbrush can’t reach, protecting your gums and the edges of your crowns from decay.
Dentists stress the significance of flossing once a day to maintain good oral hygiene, which is vital for the longevity of both dental crowns and natural teeth. Failing to floss might lead to plaque buildup, resulting in cavities near your crown or worse.
For those with dental crowns, using floss correctly is key. You should gently slide it between the teeth and around each crown’s base without snapping or forcing it, which could damage the crown or irritate your gums.
Avoiding Hard and Sticky Foods
Eating hard and sticky foods can pose a risk to your dental crowns. Chewing on items like ice, hard candies, or caramel can pull on the crown or even crack it. Such damage not only affects the crown but may also harm the underlying tooth.
To keep your crowns secure and in good shape, choose softer foods and cut down on snacks that could put pressure on them.
Regular Dental Visits
Seeing your dentist regularly plays a crucial role in the maintenance of dental crowns. These check-ups allow professionals to examine the condition of your crowns and ensure they remain in good shape.
They can spot early signs of wear or damage, which might go unnoticed at home. During these visits, dentists also provide professional cleanings that remove plaque buildup more effectively than home care alone.
Your dentist can offer advice on how to specifically care for your type of crown, whether it’s metal or porcelain. This personalized guidance helps prevent common issues like cavities around the crown’s base or potential gum disease that could undermine the health of your teeth and gums.
Learn How to Properly Care for Your Dental Crowns Today!
Taking good care of your dental crowns means adopting effective brushing and flossing habits. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush with fluoride toothpaste to keep both metal and porcelain crowns in top shape.
Make sure you’re gentle but thorough, especially around the crown area to prevent plaque build-up. Regular visits to the dental clinics like Mai Dentistry of St. Petersburg will also help maintain the health and longevity of your crowns.
Start these practices today for a healthier smile tomorrow; your dental health depends on it.
