After meticulous fabrication, 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 concern as they don’t know how to handle a fallen porcelain crown.
Can a fallen porcelain crown be reattached? The answer is yes, if handled correctly. The first crucial step is to retrieve the crown if it’s intact, then thoroughly clean the area where it fell off to prevent infection. You should avoid chewing on the side where the crown is missing to prevent further damage and promptly visit a dentist for examination and appropriate treatment. 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 Off?
One of the common reasons for a porcelain crown to fall off is weak adhesive or incorrect bonding technique. When the crown is not firmly attached to the natural tooth, the bond strength decreases, making it prone to detachment during eating and drinking.
Excessive Biting Force or Chewing Hard Foods
Excessive biting force or the habit of eating very hard foods like ice, bones, sugarcane, etc., can cause porcelain crowns to dislodge or come off the tooth abutment. Continuous high-impact forces weaken the bond between the natural tooth and the porcelain crown, making the situation of “what to do if a porcelain crown falls out” a common concern for many.
Porcelain Crown Lifespan Expired
Chipped or fallen porcelain crowns can also be due to the crown reaching the end of its 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.
Poor Dentist Skill
A crucial factor not to be overlooked is the dentist’s skill. If the crown bonding procedure is inaccurate or an insufficient amount of adhesive is used, the crown’s retention capability will be poor. As a result, the porcelain crown may detach or fall off after only a short period of use.
Bone Loss Reducing Porcelain Crown Support
When bone resorption occurs, the supporting foundation for the crown is no longer stable. Bone loss around the tooth due to missing teeth or periodontal disease weakens the structure, causing the porcelain crown to fall off. The solution is to promptly treat and restore the bone to maintain the stability of the porcelain crown.
Improper Oral Hygiene
Incorrect brushing techniques, using excessive force, or a hard-bristled toothbrush can cause gum recession, 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 Porcelain Crown
When a porcelain crown chips or a prosthetic tooth 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 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, ensuring it is as firm and secure as before.
If the porcelain crown is broken, fractured, or has reached the end of its lifespan, the dentist will need to readjust 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 loss of porcelain crowns, you should:
- Choose a reputable dental clinic with a team of highly skilled dentists and modern equipment.
- Maintain a reasonable diet, avoiding overly hard or extremely hot/cold foods.
- Take meticulous care of 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 crowns, so you can take timely action and consult a dentist when necessary.
Visual Inspection: Do you notice a crack, an unusual line, or a missing small piece? The chipped area might reveal a different color. If you see a darker spot, it could be the underlying metal framework (for metal-ceramic crowns) or the color of the prepared natural tooth. This confirms that the outer ceramic layer has fractured. Look at the biting edges, which bear the most chewing force and are also prone to chipping.
Feel 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 irregular. Gently run your index fingertip 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 underneath. You might feel sensitivity or pain when consuming hot, cold, or sweet/sour foods. Pain or discomfort when biting or chewing food; pressure on the chipped area can cause a sharp pain or discomfort. Food getting stuck: If you notice food frequently getting caught in a specific spot where it didn’t before, it could be due to a fractured piece of porcelain.
Effective Methods for Fixing Chipped Porcelain Crowns
Below are the effective methods currently applied for repairing chipped porcelain crowns.
This refers to a situation where there’s a small chip, usually on the incisal edge, that doesn’t expose the natural tooth abutment inside and hasn’t significantly affected 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 injure the lips, cheeks, or tongue. After reshaping, the entire surface of the porcelain crown will be repolished to restore its natural luster, ensuring it harmonizes with the rest of your teeth. This method is quick and painless.
Filling the Chipped Area of the Porcelain Crown: For slightly larger chips that do not yet require a new crown, dental bonding (filling) is an effective solution. The dentist will use specialized composite material, commonly used in cosmetic dentistry, with a color that perfectly matches your porcelain crown.
Case of Large Porcelain Crown Chip/Fracture: When a porcelain crown has a large fracture, exposing the natural tooth abutment inside, or severely impacting chewing function, filling 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 Ho Chi Minh City
To achieve successful and long-lasting porcelain crown restorations, the key factor is choosing a reputable and high-quality clinic. A trusted and quality dental clinic needs to have a team of skilled, experienced dentists, apply the latest technology, be equipped with modern facilities, and use high-quality porcelain materials.
My Auris Dental Clinic prides itself on being a leading reputable porcelain crown clinic in Ho Chi Minh City, with over 8000 successful crown procedures, including complex cases. Direct examination and restoration planning are carried out by CKI dentists with over 10 years of experience, ensuring perfectly fitting, comfortable, securely fixed porcelain crowns that allow for comfortable eating like natural teeth.
My Auris owns its private Labo, applying many modern pieces of equipment and machinery in the porcelain crown fabrication process. Thanks to this, beautiful, sophisticated porcelain models with diverse colors and superior durability are created, fully meeting customers’ preferences, needs, and dental conditions.
All porcelain crowns are imported directly from the USA and Germany, come with genuine warranty cards, ensuring excellent quality and oral health safety. The porcelain crowning process strictly adheres to Ministry of Health standards, performed in separate, clean clinic rooms, meticulously observing sterile conditions to prevent cross-contamination.
If you experience a chipped porcelain crown, don’t hesitate! Visit My Auris to have the cause identified and effectively remedied, preventing further aesthetic and chewing function issues.
