A temporary crown is used to protect a tooth while you are waiting for a dental laboratory to make a permanent crown for your tooth. They are placed at the appointment when your dentist shapes your tooth and takes an impression to send to a dental laboratory. A dental technician then fabricates and customizes it to your specific tooth shape, color and bite .

Your dentist may designate his dental assistant to make your temporary depending on state laws as to what services an experienced assistant is allowed to perform in your particular state. The temporary cement that is used is not meant to be super strong; you could compare temporary and permanent to the difference between Elmer’s glue and Gorilla glue. There are several important things that temporary crowns do:

1. They keep your tooth in place so that it does not move. Did you know our teeth are moving slightly all of the time ? Our teeth are meant to be touching each other and when they do not touch a tooth next to it or above it they can move out of their position making the permanent crown not fit properly. This may mean the dentist needs to send the crown back to the lab for in lab adjusting, you may need to have the impression retaken. (Let’s face it those impressions are not fun the first time around and the taste is not nice and minty fresh!). I personally hate the taste, UGH!
2. It protects your tooth from hot and cold foods and drinks. Acts as an insulator making it so that you are still able to enjoy coffee, ice cream and all the other good things we all love.
3. Our gums are also a moving entity and they will grow into a space where you have missing tooth structure . If this happens the dentist may need to reshape your gums to get them moved out of the way and back to where they belong in order to cement your permanent crown. This could be done using a laser and could lead to additional charges.
4. Temporary crowns also keep the tooth looking nice and fully intact. Allowing you to chew without causing any damage to the tooth.
5. A temporary can also be used to test if your tooth is cracked and can help your dentist make proper decisions in your care . If a tooth is feeling better with a temporary crown then a permanent crown will make the tooth feel good as well.

If your temporary crown comes off you should call your dental office right away.

Most dentists are reachable even after hours if a patient has an emergency. If your temporary comes off and you are unable to reach your dentist you can go to most pharmacies and buy temporary cements to replace it yourself such as Dentemp and Recapit.

They can be a little tricky to use though. I was out of state on vacation and I had my temporary crown come off and even being a Dental Assistant I had trouble using the material at the drug store.

So all in all if your temporary crown comes off call us right away!!!!!! We are here to help and look forward to helping you in any way!!!

P.S. No matter what do not use any products that are not made for dental purposes. Some people have used super glue PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT!!!!!!   It is not fun for any of us to get it off when any other glue is used.

Have additional questions about temporary crowns or how we can help you improve your smile and your confidence? Don’t hesitate to Contact Us or leave a reply below and we will be happy to try and answer them for you!