Getting a crown is a routine treatment for a tooth weakened by a large filling, a crack or a root canal. The standard process takes two appointments a few weeks apart, with a temporary crown in between. How you eat during those weeks decides whether the temporary stays in place, and your habits afterward decide how long the final crown lasts.
The First Appointment: Preparing the Tooth
After numbing the area, the dentist removes a thin layer of tooth on all sides so the crown can fit over it without making the tooth bulkier than its neighbors. Any decay or old filling material is cleared out and the core is rebuilt if needed. The dentist then takes an impression, either with a tray of putty-like material or with a digital scanner, and sends it to a dental lab. Some offices mill crowns in-house the same day, in which case the temporary stage is skipped.
The temporary crown, usually made of acrylic, is attached with temporary cement. This cement is weak on purpose: it has to hold for two to three weeks and then release cleanly without damaging the tooth underneath.
What to Eat With a Temporary Crown
A temporary crown is less strong than the final one and is held by a deliberately soft cement, so the goal for the next few weeks is to avoid pulling it off or cracking it. Foods to avoid until the permanent crown is placed:
- sticky foods such as caramel, toffee, gummy candy and chewing gum, which can lift the crown
- hard foods such as nuts, ice, hard pretzels and crusty bread, which can crack acrylic
- very chewy meat like jerky or thick steak, unless cut into small pieces
Pasta, rice, eggs, fish, cooked vegetables, soft fruit, yogurt and soups are all easy on a temporary. Chew on the opposite side whenever you can.
Floss around the temporary carefully: slide the floss out sideways instead of pulling it back up between the teeth, which can pop the crown loose.
If the temporary does come off, keep it, call the office and avoid chewing on that side. The exposed tooth can be sensitive and can shift slightly if left uncovered, so it should be recemented within a day or two. Pharmacies sell temporary dental cement kits that let you reseat it until your appointment.
The Second Appointment: Cementing the Final Crown
The dentist removes the temporary, cleans off the old cement and tries in the permanent crown to check its fit, the contact with neighboring teeth, your bite and the color. Once everything is right, the crown is fixed with permanent cement.
The cement depends on the crown material. Zirconia and metal-based crowns are often placed with glass ionomer or resin-modified glass ionomer cements, while all-ceramic crowns such as lithium disilicate are usually bonded with resin cements that also add to their strength and appearance. Dentists compare the best dental cements for each material, because the thin cement layer is what seals the edge of the crown against bacteria for years.
You can usually eat normally once the numbness wears off. Mild sensitivity or gum tenderness around the crown for a few days is normal.
How Long Does a Crown Last?
Most crowns last 10 to 15 years, and many last considerably longer with good care. Failures rarely come from the crown itself. They come from the tooth around it: decay at the margin where crown meets tooth, or a fracture from heavy forces. Habits that shorten a crown’s life:
- chewing ice, hard candy or pen caps
- grinding or clenching at night; a night guard protects both the crown and your other teeth
- frequent sugary snacks and drinks, which feed decay at the crown margin
- skipping flossing, which lets plaque build up exactly where the crown edge sits
A crown cannot decay, but the tooth under it can. Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, floss daily around the crown and keep regular cleanings so the dentist can check the margins on X-rays.
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