Caring for Your Porcelain Crowns

Porcelain dental crowns are a great treatment option for restoring dental health, strength, appearance, and function. Porcelain crowns are durable, however, without proper care, they can become damaged or worn well before their expected lifespan. Warsaw cosmetic dentists Bill Stofer and Jason Hemphill offer these porcelain crown aftercare tips to help you keep your crowns looking and functioning their best for years to come.

Caring for Your Porcelain Dental Crowns

Properly caring for your porcelain crowns can help your crowns last well over ten years. Caring for dental crowns is as easy as caring for your natural teeth.

• Brush at least twice a day: Practicing good oral hygiene is one of the most important components of porcelain crown aftercare. Proper brushing techniques include brushing for at least two minutes, twice a day, paying special attention to the gum line and back teeth.
• Floss at least once a day: Flossing is also important to caring for porcelain crowns. Flossing helps prevent gum disease and tooth decay. Floss at least once a day, being sure to floss along each side of each tooth, as far along the gum line as possible.
• See your dentist for regular check-ups and cleanings: Regular dental check-ups are also important to dental crown care. Regular dental exams and professional cleanings are key to detecting damage, decay, or other issues at the earliest signs while keeping the teeth clean and gums healthy. Keeping the underlying teeth healthy is important to prolonging the life of dental crowns.
• Seek treatment at the earliest signs of damage: If you do notice dental crown damage, such as a chip or fracture, seek treatment immediately. A damaged dental crown can lead to decay or injury of the underlying tooth.
• Wear a mouth guard if you suffer from bruxism: Patients who have porcelain crowns due to damage caused by bruxism, commonly known as teeth grinding, should wear a custom-made mouth guard while sleeping (or whenever teeth grinding occurs) to protect dental crowns, and the natural teeth, from fracture.

What to Avoid with Porcelain Crowns

Properly caring for porcelain crowns also includes avoiding things that can break or damage your restorations. Though porcelain crowns are durable, they can be damaged.  Avoid the following to keep your crowns in good shape:

• Don't bite your fingernails: Biting your fingernails is a bad habit that can cause severe damage, such as fractures and crown loosening, to your dental crowns.
• Don't chew on metal pen caps: Chewing on metal, or even plastic, pen caps can chip or break crowns and even damage your natural teeth.
• Don't use your teeth to open packaging: Opening plastic packages or bottles with your teeth can dislodge or even break porcelain crowns.
• Don't eat ice or chew hard candies: Regularly chewing on ice or hard candies can also damage dental crowns, as it puts undue pressure and strain on your dental crowns.

Keep Your Dental Crowns at Their Best

For more porcelain crown aftercare tips, we invite you to schedule a consultation with Drs. Stofer and Hemphill today.