Dental Crown for Adults: What You Should Know

When Does an Adult Need a Dental Crown?

A crown isn’t necessarily required for every tooth injury. If there’s a minuscule cavity, you might just get a filling. However, when a tooth loses too much material, a filling won’t be effective. The pressure from the force used to chew will damage the tooth.

Crowns are typically required for teeth with extensive damage, like significant decay or a broken portion. Crowns are also required following a root canal since the tooth has lost some integrity, and an additional covering is required for optimal protection. The other reason someone may need a crown is because the tooth has experienced excessive wear.

Signs You Might Need One

• There is a crack or large breakage with pain upon chewing or when the tooth feels different than the rest of your teeth

• There’s a tooth with a big filling that feels sensitive

• If the tooth feels sensitive again and again, it probably needs to be reinforced even if the decay has been dealt with. You shouldn’t test it every morning with an ice cube

What Happens at the Crown Appointment?

There’s normally an evaluation involved when you have a crown. The dentist may do an X-ray to determine how decay affects the tooth. They have to fix any oral infection before they can place the crown.

They’ll reshape the tooth to ensure the new covering will last. Don’t worry, you won’t feel any drilling if the dentist has given you a numbing agent. They take impressions or pictures of the affected tooth so that a dental lab can make a crown that fits you perfectly.

At your return appointment, the dentist will ensure that the crown looks good and fits well by observing how you bite. They have to make sure that it isn’t too high in your mouth since it could affect your comfort when you’re chewing.

How Will It Feel?

It will feel awkward at first, but you won’t get used to having something foreign in your mouth. Your tongue has an annoying habit of wandering off whenever it gets bored. However, it shouldn’t affect you after a while.

A good dentist will ensure that the crown feels right in your mouth. It shouldn’t feel like a foreign entity. In most cases, you won’t even feel the tooth beneath the covering. It should feel like the real thing.

Selecting a Material for an Adult’s Crown

It’s not enough to just decide that you need a crown. You must also decide which type of material will be most suitable. A tooth that you use to chew with and one you use to smile with will have different requirements.

Your dentist will give you their opinion on the material to use for your dental crown based on the tooth’s location as well as how much of the original tooth remains.

Porcelain crowns tend to be popular among adults that want to retain a good appearance. Some people want to invest in tough materials for their molars since they tend to put a lot of stress on the crown. 

Care Instructions for Crowns

A crown doesn’t mean you can neglect the tooth. The underlying structure and gums still need to be taken care of. You have to maintain good brushing habits as well as flossing habits so that plaque doesn’t build up around the crown.

Avoiding chewing very hard objects is a good way to keep your crown intact. If the crown ever comes loose or gets broken, you need to visit the dentist instead of leaving it be.

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