How to care for teeth with crowns, inlays or dental bridges

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Most often, people who feel a bad odor coming from their mouth seek advice from a dentist. Indeed, in 90% of cases of registered visits, examination reveals diseases of the teeth and gums that require treatment. After solving the problem, the bad smell stops bothering you. But sometimes patients who have crowns installed on their teeth begin to worry about the smell of rot coming from their mouth, and the source is clearly the tooth under the prosthesis.

How much can you eat after dentures?

After installing permanent crowns or inlays, you can drink water immediately, but eat after 1.5-2 hours. This is not related to the type of prosthesis or the adhesive used for fixation. During treatment, anesthesia is used - and it is very important that its effect wears off completely, otherwise chewing can injure the tongue or the inside of the cheeks.

After installing temporary crowns or inlays, you are allowed to eat food after 2-3 hours. However, in such a situation, it is strongly recommended not to put any stress on the restored tooth and try to chew food on the other side - not only at first, but throughout the entire period of wearing the temporary structure. It is impossible to put a load on such prostheses - they are not designed for it (naturally, if we are talking about crowns or inlays, which are installed for a maximum of 2-3 weeks, and not for a long time).

Types, materials, manufacturing methods and photos of dental crowns:

In modern dentistry, metal-ceramic crowns and crowns based on zirconium dioxide are most often used.

Crowns such as solid-cast and stamped are made extremely rarely and mainly in cases where it is impossible or impractical to manufacture metal-ceramic or zirconium crowns.

• Metal-ceramic crowns

  
  They are a combined crown, where the frame (cap) is made of metal, which is later covered with ceramic mass. Aesthetically and functionally, it is practically no different from your own dental tissues.

• Crowns based on zirconium dioxide (zirconium)

  
  They are a combined crown, where the frame (cap) is made of zirconium (in other words, a white mineral) which is later covered with ceramic mass. Aesthetically and functionally, it is practically no different from your own dental tissues. Zirconium crowns are more aesthetic due to increased transparency.

• Temporary crowns (metal-plastic crowns)

  
  They are made of either composite or plastic. These crowns are slightly inferior in beauty and strength to the above. But they have a huge advantage - they can be made in a matter of minutes right in the dentist’s office. They are used as an intermediate (protective) structure during the production of permanent crowns.

What diet should you follow?

A lot depends on the original condition of the tooth to be restored. So, if the root is strong, approximately half of the tissues of the coronal part are preserved, and the prosthesis itself is installed correctly and professionally, there are no obvious restrictions in terms of load. Stump tabs, which are also used to strengthen the root system, fit very tightly, hold securely and do not require any special changes in nutrition. But if, for example, prosthetics were performed on a pin, the chewing pressure on the tooth must be reduced, since it can lead to displacement of the pin, and subsequently the crown.

In general, recommendations for any type of prosthetics from a nutritional point of view would be as follows:

• limiting the consumption of drinks high in caffeine (tea, coffee) and coloring pigments (wine, beets), especially if you have plastic and metal-plastic crowns that absorb dyes from food and drinks,
• Food that is too cold or too hot should be eaten with great caution - it can lead to cracks and chips of materials, and disruption of their adhesion (fixation). It is also impossible, for example, to immediately drink hot tea after cold ice cream - sudden temperature changes can again provoke the formation of cracks and destruction of dentures, weaken the effect of the fixing adhesive,
• Despite the fairly high strength of crowns and inlays, you need to protect them from excessive loads - it is better to first cut solid food into small pieces,
• teeth with crowns should not be used to open the shells of nuts, such as pistachios,
• If you have dentures, it is recommended to avoid viscous and stringy foods, namely chewing gum and toffees, which can stick to crowns or inlays, and with excessive load and gradual deterioration of the fixation of the prosthesis can lead to its loss.

First of all, crowns that have an external coating that can break off need to be protected from mechanical loads - made of metal-plastic, metal-ceramic or zirconium coated with ceramic.

Treatment tactics vary and depend on the following factors:

• stages of tooth decay;
• the degree of spread of the inflammatory process to soft tissues;
• condition of root canals.

Treatment options for a tooth under a crown:

If the tooth stump has been preserved and has not undergone a carious process, the layers inside the crown are cleaned and, depending on the condition, it is either replaced with a new one or returned to its place after restoration.

When the upper part of the tooth is destroyed, but the roots are healthy, the stump inlay method is used. This is an orthopedic structure with “legs” that are fixed in the canals of the tooth, and an artificial crown is installed on top.

If the putrefactive process has gone too far and the tooth is completely destroyed, it is removed. As a rule, with long-term inflammation, the soft tissues surrounding the problematic tooth also suffer. Therefore, before proceeding with prosthetics, periodontitis is treated. There are two ways to restore a lost tooth: implantation or a bridge.

When choosing a dental clinic where you plan to get dentures, be sure to find out whether the medical institution provides guarantees for the treatment performed. If damage to the prosthesis occurs during the warranty period due to a medical error, treatment and restoration of the orthopedic structure is carried out free of charge.

What hygiene products are needed and can be used?

What hygiene products are needed and can be used?

How to properly brush teeth with dentures

The presence of crowns, inlays or dental bridges in your mouth should not embarrass you: you need to care for them and all other teeth in the same way as you did before:

• it is necessary to clean the oral cavity of plaque 2 times a day - morning and evening: using a toothbrush, make vertical movements from the gums to the cutting edge of the tooth, you can supplement such procedures with an irrigator,
• After each meal, you must use an irrigator, dental floss and interdental brushes (as indicated and with caution). Or at least rinse your mouth with a special product, or with regular warm water.

In addition to the restored teeth, living teeth and gums remained in the oral cavity. They need to be looked after, otherwise the risk of their premature loss increases. Remember that gum disease is five times more likely to lead to tooth loss than regular tooth decay and its consequences.

Why does the taste of blood appear in the mouth?

Inflammation of the gums under the denture is manifested not only by a specific smell from the mouth, but also by the appearance of a blood taste.

Inflammation of the gums around the crown is called gingivitis. Often the cause of gingivitis is rubbing of the mucous membrane due to the irregular shape of the prosthesis. For example, when the lower edge of the crown extends too deeply behind the gum, which leads to injury and bleeding. Blood is an excellent breeding ground for pathogenic microbes that readily multiply, causing inflammation of the soft tissue around a tooth with a poorly fitting denture.

Broken prosthesis that goes unnoticed. The bridge structures scratch the mucous membrane, leaving cuts and abrasions on it.

Bleeding is also the result of poor-quality tooth treatment before prosthetics. Against the background of inadequate filling of the dental canals or incomplete removal of the pulp, pathogenic microbes inside the tooth provoke a purulent process, which is accompanied by tissue destruction with the release of blood.

Can I use dental floss?

If you have any dentures in your mouth, you should either refuse floss completely or use it too carefully. The crowns are fixed in such a way that natural micro-gaps between them are preserved, which require cleansing. However, when flossing, you should not make vertical movements - only horizontal ones. That is, you need to insert the thread not from the cutting edge, gradually moving towards the gums, but place its tip directly into the gap - make several horizontal movements and remove it in a similar way.

Do not use the prosthesis if it has a chip or crack - try to see a doctor as soon as possible to restore the integrity of the crown/inlay or for a prompt replacement. Otherwise, there is a high risk of developing inflammatory processes under the prosthesis.

Is it possible to carry out professional hygiene with crowns?

Both teeth and any dentures require high-quality hygiene. Once or twice a year, have your teeth cleaned with an ultrasound. But Air Flow is prohibited in the presence of multiple crowns, since the drug contains abrasive particles that can damage the smooth surface of the dentures. In such a situation, you should definitely warn the doctor about the presence of crowns or bridges - if there are few of them, you can simply bypass them and carry out Air Flow cleaning in another area.

Which crown is better - metal-ceramic or zirconium?

A bit of an incorrect question.

In terms of strength and aesthetic characteristics, these crowns are very close to each other.

On front teeth, zirconium crowns are more preferable due to their increased transparency.

But in the area of ​​chewing teeth, we would not recommend using zirconium crowns due to the lower strength of the frame.

Therefore, the ideal option would be to use metal-ceramics in the area of ​​the chewing teeth, and zirconium crowns in the area of ​​the front teeth.

Is it possible to smoke if you have dentures?

There is no direct ban on smoking, but you need to understand that nicotine leads to the formation of a large amount of plaque - both on real and artificial teeth. It is difficult to remove; the gums also suffer because of it - they do not receive enough nutrients, atrophy and expose the tooth roots. If you can’t quit smoking, then try to at least reduce the number of cigarettes you consume to a minimum, at the same time improve hygiene at home, and also visit a doctor every 2-3 months for comprehensive oral hygiene.

Causes of odor under the crown

If the prosthesis is made and installed correctly, and the tooth is pre-treated or properly depulped, then no extraneous irritating odors will arise while wearing the crown - of course, with proper oral hygiene and regular dental examinations.

But it happens that either a crown is installed on an already defective tooth, or decay begins after the installation of the prosthesis for various reasons. Here the only possible way out is to eliminate the consequences by contacting the clinic.

The most common reasons why a prosthetic tooth begins to smell bad:

• Loose fit of the crown to the gum. If there is a gap between the edge of the denture and the mucous membrane, food particles will certainly get there. It is not possible to clean them with traditional means - a toothbrush and rinsing - so the substrate accumulates daily. Pathogenic bacteria begin to multiply on this biomass, rotting processes develop, and a specific smell appears.
• Depressurization of the connection between the crown and the tooth. This happens if the prosthesis is initially installed incorrectly or the cement is destroyed, and pathogenic microbes penetrate into the resulting cavities. As a result, inflammation of the gums occurs and even the development of secondary caries. All this contributes to the appearance of a characteristic unpleasant aroma from under the crown.
• Violation of the sealed connection with the tooth of the metal-ceramic crown . If, in addition, the crown is made on a metal base, if the cement layer is broken, air containing oxygen and saliva penetrate under the crown. In a humid environment, taking into account the pH of the salivary secretion, the metal of the crown undergoes oxidation, causing a bad odor. In addition, oxidized metal can become a source of irritation and allergic reactions of the gums.
• Lack of tooth protection after grinding. After preparing teeth for crowns, the final fixation of the crown does not occur immediately. Therefore, during the waiting period, the dentist puts a temporary prosthesis on the tooth stump or treats it with medical cement, excluding the penetration of bacteria into the tooth tissues that lack protection. If these steps are skipped for some reason, bacteria invariably settle in the tooth stump and cause decay under the permanent crown.
• Violation of the technology for manufacturing and installing the prosthesis. For various reasons (lack of proper equipment in the laboratory, low qualifications of the dental technician, little experience in prosthetics by the dentist, etc.), the crown is fixed on a tooth with irregularities. Gradually, injury to the tooth stump or soft tissue occurs with suppuration and the development of infection.
• Installing a crown on a tooth that required extraction . This doesn't happen very often. For example, it is necessary to install a bridge, and one of the supporting teeth must be removed. To save on implantation, the patient agrees to restore the defective tooth. As a result, after some time, the tooth is still destroyed, the tooth root is fractured, and the crown flies off. Therefore, if there is an indication for tooth extraction, then it should be removed and not used as a support for a crown.
• Lack of oral hygiene . Some dentures require careful care and cleaning of food debris. If simple steps are not taken, strains of pathogenic bacteria grow very quickly and putrefactive processes develop.
• Untreated caries and pulpitis at the stage of preparing the tooth for “crowning”. Hidden inside, diseases do not stop; on the contrary, they worsen. Therefore, it is first necessary to cure all dental caries.
• Poor quality depulpation. If the tooth canals are not completely filled, this causes the development of granuloma at the root apex. A granuloma, or cyst, is a cavity filled with pus. Also, the cause of the development of such inflammations is poor obturation of the root canals - with a loose arrangement of cement. Dr. Lopaeva’s clinic employs a professional dentist and endodontist who treats dental canals.
• Constant gum irritation. If the crown is poorly placed and regularly touches the gums, the mucous membrane responds with inflammation and swelling. The smell will also add severe pain. If there are no defects in the prosthesis, the doctor will trim the gum. If the defect is inherent in the product, you will have to install another crown.

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How do you know when it’s time to change crowns?

Cracks, poor fixation on the tooth, discoloration, discomfort when closing the jaws - all these are reasons to consult a doctor. A crown can fail either after 2-3 years or after 10-15 years - a lot depends on the initial situation, the professionalism of the doctor, the quality of the material, as well as on how the teeth were used. We strongly recommend visiting the dentist 1-2 times a year to examine the oral cavity - the doctor will be able to assess the quality of fixation of the prosthesis and its integrity. This way, you won’t have to guess how long the crowns will last, but will be able to understand exactly when you need to worry about replacing them.

All recommendations boil down to the fact that crowns, inlays and bridges, like living teeth, require regular care and careful treatment. Do not forget that in addition to artificial crowns, living tissues remain in the oral cavity - these are gums and ligaments that hold the root of the tooth. All of them are susceptible to inflammatory processes, which can lead to the loss of the remaining living tooth along with the installed prosthesis.