2 Things to Do While Waiting for Your Permanent Crown

When you are having dental problems, your dentist may suggest that you get a crown on one or more of your teeth. A crown is basically a shell that gets put over your tooth. The crown is made out of things like dental ceramics, and the dentist will take molds of your mouth before they start the entire process of installing a crown so that they can make sure that the crown will fit in your mouth precisely so it won't hurt you when it has been installed. It generally takes at least two appointments for the entire process to happen. You might be wondering how you can prepare yourself for getting your crown. 

Get Soft Foods

Your mouth may be a little sore while you are waiting for your new crown to come in. Part of that is because your dentist is going to give you a temporary crown to tide you over until your permanent crown comes in and gets installed. The temp crown may not sit as well as the permanent one will, so it may poke you, which can cause your gums and mouth to hurt. The temp crown is also going to be more fragile than the permanent one will be, so you want to take care of it anyway. Eating soft food will help you with a sore jaw and with being careful with your temporary crown. Things like cottage cheese, soups, and yogurt will be your friend in between the appointments and in the days after you have your permanent crown put in. 

Keep the Area Clean

This is something that you need to do while you are wearing your temporary crown. Ideally, you should always make sure that you are brushing and flossing your teeth, but while you have the temporary crown, it is even more important. That's because the dentist is going to file down the tooth that is getting the crown, and then place the temp on it. You may have exposed nerve endings and tooth bits that could be really sensitive if touched. You could also end up with an infection if food gets trapped around the temporary crown. So, make sure that you are brushing and flossing well in that area, and then rinse it out well to make sure that you have gotten rid of everything. There are mouthwashes that can help deal with dental pain and help fight infection, so you might consider using one of those. 

If you are getting a dental crown, you want to make sure that you are all prepared.