If you have a tooth cavity, you’re not alone; about a quarter of U.S. adults at least 20 years old are in the same boat. Untreated cavities can cause pain and tooth loss, so you want to treat them ASAP.
Dental fillings are often enough to treat cavities. But for severely decayed teeth, dental crowns may already be necessary. Also called dental caps, they can restore, reinforce, and protect weakened teeth.
Unfortunately, common dental crown mistakes can affect their placement, longevity, and cost.
To that end, we created this guide listing the most common errors when getting and wearing crowns. Read on to discover what they are to avoid committing the same.
1. Focusing Too Much on Cost
As per dental experts like Dentist Reading, a dental crown can cost anywhere from $500 to $2,500, depending on factors like material and insurance.
Composite resin, also used for dental fillings, costs the least but lasts the shortest. Porcelain costs more but is more popular as it’s durable and aesthetic. Zirconia is even more expensive but can withstand more wear than other materials.
Such high costs are prompting Americans to conduct dental travel. They go outside of the country to undergo dental procedures. They do so to take advantage of lower service costs in other countries.
The problem with dental travel is that if something goes wrong, you must travel again to fix the problem. In that case, your initial savings may go down the drain, or you might even spend more if you develop a complication.
Besides, your dental insurance may cover a part of your crown’s cost. However, that won’t happen if you get the treatment outside the country. Thus, it’s better to have a general or family dentist near you to make and place your crowns.
Even if you don’t have insurance, a local dentist may help you by offering a dental payment plan. It’s a financing program that breaks down your treatment cost into monthly payments. Most offer low financing rates, while a few don’t even charge interest.
2. Not Preparing for the Dental Crown Procedure
A dental crown procedure usually requires two appointments.
The first involves a thorough check-up to see the condition of your tooth, tooth root, and gums. The tooth root and gums must be healthy; if they’re not, there’s a chance the tooth, along with the crown, will fall out. So if you have gum disease, your dentist must treat it first with antibiotics or a root canal procedure.
If your dentist prescribes antibiotics, please take them as directed. Otherwise, they might not effectively treat the gum disease. That will only delay your dental crown procedure.
If your tooth and gums are healthy, your dentist may already prepare the tooth. Preparation involves filing it down so it can fit inside the cap.
After that, your dentist makes an impression mold of your teeth. It then goes to a laboratory, which, in turn, creates your crown. In the meantime, your dentist places a temporary crown on your filed tooth.
Your second appointment is when the actual placement of the crown takes place. It can be two to three weeks from your initial meeting.
The placement may get delayed if you develop a problem between the first and second dates. An example is a gum infection due to a lack of optimal dental hygiene.
So, always brush and floss at least twice daily. That helps protect your filed tooth and the rest of your mouth from decay and gum disease.
3. Not Raising Concerns During Crown Placement
Longevity is one of the primary benefits of dental crowns; they can last for five to 15 years or more. That long-lasting life is also why you want to ensure they’re perfect right from the start. Otherwise, you’d have to make do with them for at least half a decade or have them intentionally replaced.
One concern to raise during crown placement is its color or shade. If you think it’s too dark or doesn’t match the rest of your teeth, let your dentist know immediately.
Remember: Even professional whitening doesn’t work on dental caps. Thus, once you start wearing dental crowns, you won’t be able to change their shade. So, don’t be shy with your dentist; tell them if you don’t like the crown’s shade before it gets cemented.
Another concern you might have to raise is the fit or shape of the crown. It must make contact with the teeth on both sides, and there shouldn’t be any sizeable gap. It must also meet the tooth above or below it without causing discomfort.
4. Harshly Biting or Eating With Dental Crowns
Even if you have zirconia crowns, you should still bite down and eat gently. Regardless of their durability, they can crack if you place too much pressure on them. That’s also why you should be even more careful while eating with crowns made of other materials.
Avoid using your capped teeth to open packages or chew ice cubes. It also pays to limit your intake of hard or crunchy foods like candies and sticky foods like bread.
5. Forgetting About Proper Dental Crown Maintenance
Once you have dental caps, you still need to brush (for two minutes) and floss twice daily. However, you must pay more attention to your crowned teeth, especially if they make up a bridge. A dental bridge comprises multiple interconnected or adjoining crowns.
If you have a dental bridge, you need a specialized type of floss called super floss. It has one end that’s stiffer than the other. Use this to insert the floss into the small gap between your crown/bridge and gums.
Next to the stiff end is a spongy area coated with wax. Use it to clean the space between your crown/bridge and gums.
The other end is regular floss. You can use this to clean the rest of your natural teeth.
Alternatively, you can clean your dental caps with an interdental brush. It looks like a tiny, thin brush that can quickly get into small spaces. Its bristles allow you to remove food debris between your teeth, crowns, and gums.
Avoid These Common Dental Crown Mistakes
Remember: Dental crowns can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.
That’s enough reason to avoid common dental crown mistakes, like getting them from a non-U.S. clinic. Don’t forget to prepare for the procedure, raise concerns to your dentist, and care for your crowns. Otherwise, you might spend even more to replace them or treat complications.
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