How to Care for Your Dental Crowns and Implants

Brushing, flossing, and rinsing with a mouthwash on a regular basis is going to be important for your new crowns and implants. When it comes to caring for your dental crown or implant, it should be cared for in the same way that you can for your teeth. There are a few other helpful tips that can help your crowns and implants to last for a long time. 

Dental Crowns

Dental crowns are a cap that is placed on your damaged tooth. They are permanently cemented to the root of your tooth. While the crown portion would be at risk for developing a cavity, a cavity can still develop on the root portion of your tooth. Thus, it is really important to keep your crown clean. If your tooth gets decayed, the crown will need to be removed and redone. If the decay has gone quite deep, it is possible that too much structure was lost to be able to redo the crown and your tooth will need to be extracted. 

While dental crowns are made up of a hard material, it is still wise to avoid super hard, crunchy foods as this could fracture to the porcelain of the crown. 

If you clench or grind your teeth, please wear a nightguard to protect from wear. This will help to extend the life of your crown and also the teeth around your crown. 

When brushing your crowns, pay special attention to where the crown meets up with the root. This is an area where the bacteria like to sit and it is an easy area for decay to start. Also, flossing around your crowns is important to remove food and bacteria that harbor between your teeth. 

Dental Implants

A dental implant is a surgically placed post that serves as the root of your tooth. An abutment and a crown will be attached to an implant to completely restore function to your mouth. A dental implant is different from a dental crown in that it can not get decayed because the implant has replaced the root of your tooth. Brushing and flossing are still very important for caring for your implant because bacteria can still lead to problems such as gum disease and infection around your implant which can greatly affect the prognosis of this tooth. 

It is important that you don’t bite down hard on your dental implant. If you are hitting hard on this tooth it can lead to mobility of your tooth. Your dentist will routinely check your implant to make sure that the occlusion of it is correct and may need to make adjustments accordingly. 

Tooth clenching or grinding is also awful for the prognosis of your implant. Your dentist will be able to help you with a nightguard if this is a problem for you. 

Do Dental Crowns And Implants Need To Be Replaced?

Implants usually do not need replacing, but this really depends on many different factors. How your body responds to the implant as well as how you care for the implant are two big factors. 

Dental crowns usually do need replacing. They typically last 5-15 years but sometimes they do last longer. Again, taking good care of your dental crowns and keeping up with routine dental check-ups will help them to last longer.

I Don’t Have Much Money, What Can I Do To Replace My Teeth?

When it comes to replacing teeth there are several options available. Implants and dentures are the main ways to replace missing teeth and some people use a combination of both. Dentures are less of a financial investment but also come with their own challenges. 

If you are needing your teeth to be replaced, we suggest making an appointment and speaking with our knowledgeable team. They will help lay out your options as well as the different financial services that we offer in our office so that you can find something that works well for you!