Tips for Keeping Your Children’s Teeth Healthy

Posted on: 30 April 2018

After decay is removed or your tooth experiences an injury, dentists often place crowns to restore strength and eliminate sensitivity. While you might have been looking forward to finally feeling some comfort, you may be dismayed to discover that your tooth still hurts after being fitted with a crown. Fortunately, you can get to the bottom of what is causing the pain so that you can find the right treatment to restore the comfort of your tooth restoration.

Assess Your Oral Hygiene and Habits

For the first day or two after having a crown placed, you can expect some general discomfort as the nerve and gum tissue surrounding the tooth may still be irritated. After that, pain that arises near or around dental crowns could be caused by a variety of issues. At home, one of the easiest causes of pain to check for is your current oral hygiene habits. For example, food trapped between the crown and the adjacent tooth could be generating pressure that leads to pain. If this is the case, then regular brushing or flossing can help to ease the discomfort. You can also talk to your dentist about using special kinds of toothpaste or mouth rinses that are designed to reduce tooth sensitivity.

Arrange for a Thorough Exam

In some cases, other issues with your oral health or the crown itself may cause your dental pain. During your dental exam, let the dentist know if you have ever experienced tooth grinding since this can put pressure on the crown and irritate the nerve. Your dentist can also check the alignment of your bite to make sure that the crown does not hit the other teeth too hard. On older crowns, your dentist may also note problem areas, such as decay around the margins that contribute to pain.

Follow Through With Your Recommended Treatment Plan

After your exam, your dentist will give you a treatment plan that is designed to target the source of your dental-crown pain. Make sure to ask questions during your consultation to make sure that you know how to follow the treatment plan. For example, you could ask your dentist to show you how to floss around the crown to remove food particles that irritate your tooth.

Dental pain after a crown placement should never be so extreme that it interferes with your ability to eat or sleep comfortably. By understanding how to check for common sources of pain at home and seeking a professional opinion for lingering discomfort that does not respond to home care, you can look forward to finding a solution that preserves the integrity of your tooth restoration.