It nearly always happens at an inconvenient moment: a sticky toffee, a crusty roll, and suddenly something small and hard is loose in your mouth. If your temporary crown came off, it is a nuisance rather than an emergency, but it does need attention reasonably promptly, and there are a few things worth doing straight away.
On this page
- What to do right now
- Why it matters more than it looks
- Why temporary crowns come off
- Looking after the tooth until you are seen
- What happens at the appointment
- How to avoid it happening again
- The option with no temporary at all
- The bottom line
What to do right now
- Keep the temporary crown. Rinse it, dry it, and put it somewhere safe. It can very often be re-cemented, which saves making a new one.
- Do not swallow it, which sounds obvious but is worth saying, as it usually comes loose while eating.
- Do not use household glue. Superglue is not safe in the mouth, it damages the crown and the tooth, and it makes a proper re-cementing far harder.
- Ring your dentist. Explain what has happened and when your final crown is due to be fitted.
If you cannot be seen the same day, a temporary dental cement from a pharmacy is a reasonable stopgap. It is designed for exactly this and does no harm. It is a stopgap rather than a fix.
Why it matters more than it looks
A temporary crown is doing more work than its name suggests. It protects a tooth that has been shaped down, which leaves dentine exposed, seals the tooth against bacteria, and, importantly, holds the space.
That last point catches people out. Teeth drift, and a prepared tooth left uncovered for a week or two can allow neighbouring teeth to move very slightly. If that happens, the permanent crown, which was made to fit precisely, may no longer seat properly. Occasionally that means remaking it.
You may also notice sensitivity to hot, cold and air, which is the exposed dentine talking and entirely expected.
Why temporary crowns come off
Usually one of these:
- Sticky food. Toffee, chewing gum and soft sweets pull with surprising force.
- Hard food. Crusty bread, nuts and anything requiring real effort.
- The cement doing its job. Temporary cement is deliberately weak, because the crown has to come off easily at your next appointment. Its lifespan is measured in weeks.
- Flossing upwards. Pulling floss up and out beside a temporary crown can lift it away. Slide it out sideways instead.
- Grinding. Night-time clenching puts a temporary under forces it was never designed for.
Looking after the tooth until you are seen
If the crown is off and you are waiting for an appointment:
- Chew on the other side entirely
- Avoid very hot, very cold and very sweet things, which the exposed tooth will not enjoy
- Keep brushing the area gently, since it still needs cleaning
- Use sensitive toothpaste if the tooth is uncomfortable
- Bring the temporary crown with you, whether or not you have managed to keep it in place
What happens at the appointment
Usually something very straightforward. The tooth is cleaned, the temporary is checked, and it is re-cemented, often in a few minutes and frequently without any need for numbing.
If the temporary is broken or lost, a new one is made at the appointment. And if your permanent crown happens to be ready, we may simply fit that instead, which is the best outcome of all.
Our page on crowns explains the full treatment, and if a tooth has needed an inlay or onlay instead, the temporary stage works in much the same way.
How to avoid it happening again
While you are wearing a temporary crown, treat it more gently than a real tooth:
- Avoid sticky and very hard foods entirely for the fortnight
- Chew mainly on the other side
- Slide floss out sideways rather than pulling it upwards
- Mention it if you grind, since a temporary may need extra protection
The option with no temporary at all
It is worth knowing that the temporary stage exists only because a conventional crown is made in a dental laboratory, which takes a fortnight.
Same day crowns remove that step entirely. The tooth is prepared, captured digitally, and the finished crown is designed and milled in the practice while you wait, then bonded permanently at the same appointment. No temporary, no fortnight, and nothing to come loose over dinner.
It does not suit every case, and some complex situations are still better served by the laboratory route, but for a great many crowns it is the simpler road. The NHS overview of dental crowns gives useful general background on what crowns do and why teeth need them.
The bottom line
A temporary crown coming off is common, not serious, and usually fixed in minutes. Keep the crown, keep the glue in the drawer, avoid chewing on that side, and ring your dentist so the prepared tooth is not left uncovered for long.
If yours has come off, ring us on 01255 422506 and we will get you in. Our posts on tooth infections and choosing between a crown and a filling cover the questions that often come up alongside crown treatment.
This article is general information rather than personal dental advice. Every mouth is different, so please speak to your dentist about your own teeth.
