If you’ve just had a successful dental crown treatment, the next few days of recovery are critical to the longevity of your dental work. Taking care of your oral health post-procedure will reduce discomfort, speed up the healing process, and ensure that your new crown stays set in place.
Continue reading to find five valuable tips to help you maintain a healthy environment to recover and ensure no return trips to your dentist.
1. Eat Nutritious Food
Once your crown is in place, you’ll want to change your diet for the next 24 to 48 hours to nourish the underlying tooth and surrounding gums. Try to eat soft, nutrient-dense foods like Greek yogurt, bananas, avocado, and slow-cooked chicken.
These foods will provide essential vitamins, minerals, and proteins to aid in the recovery of your gums and the surrounding bone structure of your jaw. It’s best to eat soft foods at first to lessen the chance that your crown gets misaligned or dislodged. After a day or two, you’ll be able to chew on most foods normally.
2. Brush and Floss Properly
Practicing good oral hygiene is a fine idea at all times, but throughout your recovery, you’ll need to take special care to avoid irritating your gums or displacing your new crown.
When you brush, use a soft-bristled toothbrush in gentle circular motions to clean around the affected area.
Flossing also takes some special finesse as you’ll want to avoid getting the string stuck under your crown. If you’re currently wearing a temporary crown, the vertical motion of flossing could pull it off with sufficient force, so be careful.
3. Avoid Extreme Temperatures
Eating well is one part of the equation when it comes to food. Additionally, you’ll want to avoid food and drinks that are too hot or too cold.
Your crown is covering a tooth that has been thinned by instruments, so it might be more sensitive to extreme temperatures, causing discomfort, so make sure what you consume is around room temperature to avoid unpleasantness. This sensitivity should only stay around for a couple of days before fading away.
4. Avoid Strenuous Exercise
Exercise is great and doesn’t need to be avoided entirely as your crown recovers, but strenuous exercise, especially weightlifting, can cause your jaw to clench. This can make your teeth grind unintentionally as you exert yourself and could potentially chip your crown or cause undue irritation of your gums.
For the time being, choose exercises that require less exertion like certain yoga poses or walking. Your crown should be fully healed in three to five days, so it shouldn’t severely disrupt your routine.
5. Return to Your Dentist if You Feel Pain
Once a dental crown is in place, it should mesh with the rest of your mouth. It may feel strange for a few days as you get used to it, but it shouldn’t cause discomfort or pain.
If you find that you have a hard time biting down, if the gums look red and puffy around the crown, or if the area begins to hurt, schedule a follow-up appointment with your dentist. The crown might have been misplaced or bacteria might have infiltrated the site, causing an infection.
By following these five tips and staying in touch with your dental care team, you can enjoy the benefits of a strong, natural-looking crown with confidence.
About the Author
Dr. Jayme Glamm believes in the power of beautiful smiles. For over 15 years, she has been building strong relationships with her patients to meet all of their dental needs, treating everyone with a holistic approach to improve their overall health. After graduating from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, Dr. Glamm accepted a prestigious General Practice Residency at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. Since then, she has been voted Top Dentist by 5280 Magazine in Denver eight years in a row (2012 – 2020). To schedule an appointment at Glamm Dentistry, call (614) 487-0112 or visit the website for more information.