After being meticulously crafted, porcelain crowns are securely bonded to the natural tooth abutment with specialized dental adhesive, ensuring high durability and aesthetics. However, there are still reasons why porcelain crowns can fail or fall off, causing many people to worry about how to handle a fallen crown.
Can a fallen porcelain crown be reattached? The answer is: yes, if handled correctly. The first important step is to keep the crown if it is still intact, then clean the area where the tooth fell out to prevent infection. You should avoid chewing on the side where the tooth fell out to prevent further damage and promptly visit a dentist for examination and appropriate solutions. Don’t let a minor incident affect your oral health. Let My Auris Dental Clinic delve deeper into the causes of fallen or damaged porcelain crowns and effective solutions in the article below!
Why Do Porcelain Crowns Fall Out?
One of the common reasons why porcelain crowns fall out is due to weak adhesive or imprecise bonding techniques. When a porcelain crown is not securely attached to the natural tooth, its bond strength decreases, making it prone to dislodging during eating.
Excessive Biting Force or Chewing Hard Food
Excessive biting force or habits of eating very hard foods such as ice, bones, sugarcane, etc., can cause the porcelain crown to shift or detach from the tooth abutment. Continuous high impact weakens the bond between the natural tooth and the porcelain crown, making the problem of “what to do if a dental crown falls off” a concern for many.
Expired Lifespan of Porcelain Crown
A chipped or fallen porcelain crown can also be due to its expired lifespan. Over time, the adhesive bond between the tooth abutment and the crown wears down due to the effects of food, saliva, and bacteria, causing the crown to become loose and easily fall off.
Inexperienced Dentist
A crucial factor not to be overlooked is the dentist’s skill. If the bonding procedure is not precise or an insufficient amount of adhesive is used, the crown’s retention will be poor. As a result, the porcelain crown may dislodge or fall off after only a short period of use.
Bone Loss Reducing Porcelain Crown Support
When bone loss occurs, the supporting foundation for the crown is no longer stable. Tooth loss or periodontal disease leading to bone loss around the tooth weakens the structure, causing the porcelain crown to fall out. The solution is timely bone regeneration treatment to maintain the stability of the porcelain crown.
Incorrect Oral Hygiene
Brushing incorrectly, using excessive force, or a hard toothbrush can expose the tooth root, affecting the bond between the porcelain crown and the natural tooth. Gradually, the porcelain crown may come loose, causing inconvenience and impacting aesthetics.
How to Fix a Chipped or Broken Porcelain Crown
When a porcelain crown is chipped or a denture falls out, the first important thing is not to attempt to fix it yourself at home. Instead, you should visit a dental clinic as soon as possible, where a qualified dentist with modern supporting equipment can provide the safest and most accurate solution.
If the natural tooth abutment is still healthy and the porcelain crown is intact, the dentist will reattach the crown using specialized dental adhesive, making it secure and stable as it was originally.
If the porcelain crown is broken or has reached the end of its lifespan, the dentist will need to re-prepare the natural tooth abutment, then take an impression to fabricate a new replacement porcelain crown, ensuring it is suitable and more durable.
To minimize damage or detachment of porcelain crowns, you should:
- Choose a reputable dental clinic with a highly skilled team of dentists and modern equipment.
- Maintain a reasonable diet, avoiding excessively hard or extremely hot/cold foods.
- Practice thorough oral hygiene with proper cleaning habits.
- Visit the dentist every 6 months for scaling and a check-up of your porcelain crowns to detect any potential issues early.
Signs of a Chipped Porcelain Crown
The detailed guide below will help you accurately check the condition of your porcelain crown, so you can act promptly and seek a dentist when necessary.
Visual Inspection: Do you notice a crack, an unusual line, or a missing chip? The chipped area might reveal a different color. If you see a darker spot, it could be the underlying metal framework (for porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns) or the color of the prepared natural tooth. This confirms that the outer porcelain layer has fractured. Look at the biting edges, which bear the most chewing force and are also prone to chipping.
Tactile Sensation with Tongue and Finger: Use the tip of your tongue to glide over the surface and edges of each porcelain crown. A chipped crown will feel sharp, rough, or noticeably uneven. Carefully run your index fingertip lightly over the edges of the porcelain crown. Any roughness or an unusually sharp edge is an important warning sign.
Signs during Eating and Daily Activities: Sensitivity indicates exposure of the delicate natural dentin inside. You may feel dull pain or a sharp sensation when eating hot, cold, or sweet/sour foods. Pain or discomfort when biting or chewing food; pressure on the chipped area can cause a sharp or uncomfortable sensation. Food impaction: If you notice that food frequently gets stuck in a specific area where it didn’t before, it could be due to a broken piece of porcelain.
Effective Methods to Fix a Chipped Porcelain Crown
Here are the effective methods currently applied to repair chipped porcelain crowns.
This refers to minor chips, usually on the incisal edge, which do not expose the underlying natural tooth abutment and do not significantly affect the overall structure of the crown. The dentist will have two main approaches.
Reshaping and Polishing the Porcelain Crown: If the chip is very small and shallow, the dentist will use specialized dental instruments to reshape the chipped edge. This procedure helps remove any sharp edges that could cause injury to the lips, cheeks, or tongue. After reshaping, the entire surface of the porcelain crown will be polished to restore its natural luster, helping it blend harmoniously with the rest of the teeth. This method is quick and painless.
Bonding/Filling the Chipped Area: For slightly larger chips that do not yet require a new crown, dental bonding is an effective solution. The dentist will use specialized composite material in cosmetic dentistry, which perfectly matches the color of your porcelain crown.
Case of Large Porcelain Crown Chip: When a porcelain crown has a large fracture, exposing the natural tooth abutment or severely affecting chewing function, bonding or reshaping will no longer be effective. The only and best solution at this point is to get a new porcelain restoration. This not only restores aesthetics but also protects the natural tooth abutment from harmful agents in the oral cavity environment.
Reputable and Quality Porcelain Crown Clinic in HCMC
To achieve successful and long-lasting porcelain crown restoration results, the key factor is choosing the right reputable and quality dental clinic for porcelain crowns. A trustworthy and high-quality dental clinic needs to have a team of skilled and experienced dentists, apply the latest technology, be equipped with modern facilities, and use quality porcelain materials.
My Auris Dental Clinic is proud to be a leading reputable porcelain crown provider in Ho Chi Minh City, with over 8000 successful crown cases, including complex ones. Direct examination and restoration planning are carried out by Level 1 specialist dentists with over 10 years of experience, ensuring porcelain crowns are precisely fitted, free from discomfort, securely fixed, and allow for comfortable eating like natural teeth.
My Auris has its own Lab, applying various modern machinery and equipment in the porcelain crown fabrication process. As a result, exquisitely beautiful, diverse in color, and exceptionally durable porcelain crown designs are produced, fully meeting customers’ preferences, needs, and dental conditions.
All porcelain crowns are imported directly from the US and Germany, come with genuine warranty cards, ensuring good quality and oral health safety. The porcelain crowning process adheres to Ministry of Health standards, performed in a separate, clean clinic, strictly observing sterilization conditions and preventing cross-contamination.
If you experience a chipped porcelain crown, don’t hesitate! Visit My Auris to have the cause identified and effectively remedied, to avoid affecting both aesthetics and chewing function.
