When you have a tooth that has experienced significant damage – whether it’s from biting into a hard object, or weakened from a dental infection, or something else – you and your dentist may consider a dental crown. Dental crowns have both cosmetic and functional value, protecting your tooth while also helping it look the same as any other healthy tooth in your mouth.

Your crown, just like your teeth, will need to be cared for. The crown itself tends to do a good job resisting damage, but in and around the crown there is a real tooth that needs to be protected, and even the crown itself can experience problems without good dental care.

What is Required to Take Care of a Crown?

The good news about dental crowns is that they are, at least for your purposes, no different from regular teeth. You can clean them and take care of them exactly as you would a regular tooth, with recommendations that include:

• Brushing Twice a Day – As always, brush twice a day for two minutes each time, both in and around the crown and the tooth.
• Flossing – Using floss or a WaterPik, make sure that you’re flossing within the teeth and around the crown. Flossing only needs to be once per day.
• Get a Dental Cleaning – Professional dental cleaning by one of our experienced hygienists remains one of the best ways to make sure your teeth, crowns, and gums are free of disease.

These are the same recommendations that we would give even without a crown, because cleaning a crown doesn’t require any special treatment. It is as strong as a tooth and acts like one.

However, it is important to note that – at least for crowns that were chosen to treat severe tooth damage, rather than for cosmetic reasons – a tooth that was damaged enough to require a crown may be likely to become damaged again without property hygiene.

That means that, if you have a crown, you should consider brushing and flossing regularly and correctly even more important. It’s a sign that your teeth have not been receiving what they need in order to stay healthy, or a sign that your teeth and gums are more prone to damage than other people.

So while cleaning your crown may be no different than cleaning your other teeth, the need for a crown shows that your dental hygiene needs to be your top priority.

Pay Attention to Your Crown

Although cleaning your crown may be similar to cleaning all of your other teeth, you will want to pay attention to your crown. If the crown feels loose, or it smells, or something looks “off” about it, that may be a sign that your crown (or the tooth beneath it) has weakened or become damaged.

Make sure that, when you clean your crown, you also take a look at it every once in a while to make sure that everything looks right. If you have any concerns about the state of your crown, please give us a call and our team at Dental Concepts and Orthopedics will be there to check on the health of your crown – and the rest of your teeth – and make sure that everything is healthy and cared for.