Temporary Crown Care Instructions

Cosmetic & Family Dentist Serving Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Draper & Nearby Utah

dental explorer positions crown on model row of teethYour temporary crown is meant only to serve your needs while a permanent crown is being made for you. It will help protect the sensitivity of the prepared tooth, but the temporary does not fit your mouth like the permanent crown will.

As a result, you may notice sensitivity to heat, cold or sweets sensations that you won’t feel when your custom-made crown is in place.

  • Avoid chewing gum, nuts, hard candies and sticky foods until the permanent crown is placed
  • Do not brush or floss too vigorously around your temporary crown. It is important to keep the area clean – but use caution.
  • Floss by coming down through the top of the teeth and then remove floss by pulling it out from the side (do not floss up and down with the temporary crown).
  • Rinse with warm salt water. This will help the gum tissue heal quicker (1 cup of water to 1 tsp salt)
  • Use Advil, Motrin, or Ibuprofen as directed on the container for the next 2-3 days as long as you don’t have any medical issues advised by your physician not to take these certain medications.
  • Call our office at 801-355-5385 if you experience the feeling of the temporary crown being too high (you feel as though that specific tooth is hitting first when you bite down). It will cause a dull ache or temperature sensitivity of the tooth.
  • Temporary crowns are not strong and may occasionally break or come off. If this should happen, please call our office immediately. Bring your crown with you and we will recement or replace it. You can also simply go to a nearby pharmacy and get some Fixodent to hold it in place until you contact us.
  • Please do not leave the temporary crown out of your mouth. Without it, teeth may move and the permanent crown may not fit!