If you need to visit a family dentist to get a crown for a decayed tooth, you should learn about temporary crowns (sometimes called provisional crowns).

Why Can't You Get Your Real Crown Right Away?

Dental crowns need to be fabricated at a dental lab because they aren't a one-size-fit-all restoration. Every patient has different teeth and chewing patterns, so your crown has to be custom fit. Your dentist will take an impression of your teeth and send it to the dental lab. Technicians will pour up a model from that impression and build the crown around it. Some labs even use computer-aided design (CAD) to mill the crowns. Thankfully, your family dentist will place a temporary crown while you wait for the final product.

Why Do You Need a Temporary Crown?

Believe it or not, your adjacent teeth can actually shift slightly without the proper contacts of your original tooth. If there is any shifting, then the final crown won't fit over your prepared enamel and the dentist will have to take a new impression. The temporary crown is a great placeholder and keeps your adjacent teeth from moving.

Also, temporary crowns protect the prepared enamel from further decay or damage. Again, if that prepared enamel is compromised or changes, then the final crown from the lab won't fit correctly over it.

How Do You Take Care of a Temporary Crown?

Temporary crowns are usually made of an acrylic; they are not as durable as the final product. It's important to eat soft foods and avoid chewing on the side with the temporary if you can. If you bite too hard, you could break the temporary crown. If you know that you grind your teeth at night, wear a mouthguard so that you can protect the temporary crown. 

Brush as you usually would, but be careful with flossing. If you pop the floss up and down between your teeth, you can actually pop off the temporary crown. To avoid this issue, slide the piece of floss through your teeth when you are done. 

Your tooth will also be sensitive, so avoid very hot or very cold foods and drinks.

What if the Temporary Crown Comes off?

It's important to get back to your family dentist if the temporary crown comes off. They can make you a new one; in some cases, the one that popped off can just be recemented to the prepped tooth. But again, it's important to have it put back on so that teeth don't shift and so that your enamel is protected.

Talk to your family dentist if you have any more questions about crowns.

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