My crown broke,What should I do?



About twelve years ago I wrote a post on this topic.  The answer is still about the same.  If your crown breaks, you should call a dentist and get an appointment as soon as you are able. Hopefully your dentist will see you within a day or two. If they can't see you within a week, I would call a different dentist or better yet ask them 'nicely' if they can refer you to a good dentist who will be able to see you sooner.

It is best to see a dentist soon, because it is often hard for a patient to evaluate the extent of his damage. Sometimes, a patient without much pain has sustained a significant injury to a tooth. Fortunately, most times having your crown break isn't such a big a dental emergency. Most times when the patient is seen the crown either needs to be replaced or smoothed.

When newer all ceramic or Zirconium crowns break, often underlying tooth structure is exposed.  If the underlying tooth is exposed, sometimes the tooth is sensitive to air or cold liquids. That means the pulp inside the tooth is still alive(a good thing!). Although this is annoying and can be a pain, nothing will happen to the tooth in twenty four to 48 hours. Teeth do not decay in one week. It takes time for decay to develop. Still, replacing the crown is the best option and  dentist will have to remove the crown that remains and take a new impression to send to the lab.

This is not always the case with more traditional porcelain fused to metal crown since they have metal that remains that covers the tooth underneath. Some times the remainder of the crown is sharp and can irritate or cut the tongue. If this is the problem, a dentist can often smooth off the sharp edges and leave the chipped crown in place. Sometimes the porcelain breaks in the "contact area" and food can tend to collect in between the crown and the adjacent teeth. This can eventually lead to gum problems or can cause both adjacent teeth to decay. If the contact are is no longer intact, then the best treatment option is to replace the broken crown with a new one. 

Occasionally, when a patient calls and says "my crown broke", what actually has occurred is the tooth under the crown has broken off and the crown has come out. This can be a bigger emergency. When the patient does come in, the remainder of the tooth has decay and sometimes it requires endodontic treatment. Often these teeth do not hurt, since the pulp is already dead. Some teeth have sustained vertical fractures and in that worst case scenario the tooth will need to be removed.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2020/08/my-crown-brokewhat-should-i-do.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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