You’ve just received your new dental crown from Dr. Angela Ojibway at Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, and you’re admiring how natural and comfortable it feels. Whether you needed a crown to restore a damaged tooth, protect a tooth after root canal treatment, or complete a dental implant, proper care ensures your investment lasts for many years.
The good news? Caring for your crown is remarkably similar to caring for your natural teeth, with just a few important considerations to keep in mind. Understanding how to properly clean around your new restoration helps prevent complications and ensures your crown serves you well for its entire lifespan.
The First 24 Hours: Special Considerations for Your New Crown
The immediate period after crown placement requires a bit of extra attention. Your tooth and surrounding gum tissue may feel slightly sensitive as they adjust to the new restoration. This sensitivity is completely normal and typically resolves within a few days.
During the first 24 hours, be gentle when brushing around your new crown. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and avoid aggressive scrubbing in the area. If you received local anesthesia during your crown placement, wait until the numbness completely wears off before eating or drinking hot beverages to avoid accidentally biting your cheek or tongue.
Some patients experience minor gum tenderness where the crown margin meets the gum line. The team at Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry ensures your crown is properly contoured and polished, but your gums may need a day or two to settle into their normal position around the new restoration.
Choosing the Right Tools for Crown Care
The foundation of excellent crown care starts with the right oral hygiene tools. Here’s what you need:
- Soft-Bristled Toothbrush: Essential for protecting both your crown and natural tooth structure without risking damage to the crown margins or irritating gum tissue
- Electric Toothbrush (Optional): Many models include pressure sensors that prevent brushing too hard, and the consistent gentle motion effectively removes plaque
- Fluoride Toothpaste: Choose a non-whitening formula with moderate abrasiveness that cleans while protecting your restoration
- Dental Floss or Floss Picks: Critical for cleaning between your crowned tooth and adjacent teeth where plaque commonly accumulates
- Water Flosser (Optional): An excellent alternative that uses pulsating water to flush areas around crown margins
Avoid highly abrasive toothpastes, particularly those marketed as heavy-duty whitening formulas. While these products are generally safe for natural teeth, their abrasiveness can gradually wear down the polished surface of porcelain or ceramic crowns over time. Whitening toothpastes won’t change the color of your crown material anyway, since crown materials don’t respond to whitening agents the way natural enamel does.
Proper Brushing Technique for Crowned Teeth
The technique you use when brushing around your crown significantly impacts both the crown’s longevity and the health of the underlying tooth. Hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your gum line, positioning the bristles where the crown meets your gums. This angle allows you to clean along the crown margin effectively.
Use gentle, circular motions rather than aggressive back-and-forth scrubbing. Think of it as massaging your teeth and gums rather than scrubbing them. Pay special attention to the area where the crown meets the gum line, as this is where plaque tends to accumulate.
Brush for a full two minutes twice daily, ensuring you spend adequate time on all surfaces. The back side of your crowned tooth, particularly if it’s a molar, requires special attention since it’s harder to reach. Angle your toothbrush to clean the entire surface, and don’t rush through hard-to-reach areas where food particles and plaque commonly accumulate.
Flossing Around Your Crown: Essential Daily Care
Flossing is even more important once you have a crown. The spaces between your crowned tooth and adjacent teeth are prime locations for plaque buildup and potential decay. Gently guide the floss between your teeth using a back-and-forth sawing motion until it passes through the contact point. Curve it into a C-shape against one tooth and slide it gently beneath the gum line.
When removing floss from around a crown, pull it out sideways rather than snapping it up and out. While modern dental crowns are securely bonded, pulling floss straight up can sometimes catch on the crown margin. Pulling sideways ensures smooth removal.
Water flossers offer an excellent alternative for patients who find traditional flossing difficult. These devices thoroughly flush the areas where the crown meets the gum tissue and neighboring teeth without any risk of catching on restoration margins.
Addressing Sensitivity and Adjusting to Your Crown
Some patients experience temperature sensitivity in their crowned tooth during the first few weeks after placement. Cold beverages or cold air might trigger brief sensitivity, which typically resolves as the tooth adjusts to the restoration.
If you experience sensitivity when brushing, consider using a toothpaste specifically formulated for sensitive teeth. Apply the toothpaste to the sensitive area and allow it to sit for a moment before brushing with gentle circular motions.
Persistent or worsening sensitivity that lasts beyond a few weeks should be reported to Dr. Ojibway at Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. The experienced team can quickly identify and resolve any issues. Your crown should feel comfortable and natural when you bite down, without any sense of being “too high.” If your bite feels off, contact the office for a simple adjustment.
Foods to Approach Carefully With Your New Crown
While dental crowns are designed to function just like natural teeth, certain foods deserve extra caution, especially in the first few weeks. Here’s what to watch for:
- Very Hard Foods: Avoid biting hard candies, ice, or unpopped popcorn kernels directly with your crowned tooth, as these can potentially damage even the strongest crown material
- Sticky and Chewy Foods: Caramels, taffy, or chewy candies can potentially pull on crown margins, especially during the first 24 hours when the crown is still fully bonding
- Extreme Temperatures: Very hot or cold foods may trigger sensitivity in newly crowned teeth during the adjustment period
The good news? Once your crown is fully settled and any initial sensitivity has resolved, you can generally eat normally. Modern dental crowns are incredibly strong and designed to withstand normal chewing forces. Dr. Ojibway uses high-quality crown materials that provide excellent durability for years of comfortable function.
Long-Term Crown Maintenance and Professional Care
Maintaining your crown over the long term requires consistent daily oral hygiene combined with regular professional dental care. Your hygiene appointments at Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry play a crucial role in crown longevity. During these visits, your hygienist carefully cleans around the crown margins and removes calculus that can build up even with excellent home care.
Dr. Ojibway examines your crown during routine dental exams to ensure it remains in excellent condition. She checks the crown margins for proper sealing, evaluates surrounding gum tissue, and assesses the crown material for any signs of wear or damage. Early detection allows for prompt intervention before minor issues become major concerns.
Most dental crowns last 10-15 years or longer with proper care. The crowns placed at Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry are crafted from high-quality materials and precisely fitted to ensure optimal longevity. Your commitment to proper oral hygiene and regular dental visits helps ensure your crown reaches or exceeds its expected lifespan.
Signs Your Crown Needs Attention
Certain signs indicate you should contact Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry for an evaluation:
- Persistent Pain or Sensitivity: Ongoing discomfort that doesn’t improve after the initial adjustment period requires professional assessment
- Looseness or Movement: Any sense of the crown being loose isn’t normal and requires immediate attention to prevent damage to the underlying tooth
- Bite Changes: Feeling like your crown hits differently when you close your teeth together warrants evaluation
- Gum Recession: Significant recession around a crown that exposes the junction between crown and natural tooth should be monitored during regular exams
Protecting Your Investment in Dunwoody
Your dental crown represents an investment in your oral health and smile aesthetics. Protect this investment by avoiding using your teeth as tools to open packages, tear tags, or crack nuts. Even natural teeth can be damaged by these behaviors.
If you grind or clench your teeth, especially during sleep, discuss a protective night guard with Dr. Ojibway. Nighttime grinding can damage both natural teeth and crowns over time. The team at Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry can create a comfortable, custom-fitted guard that protects your crowns while you sleep.
Schedule Your Follow-Up Care in Dunwoody
Proper care for your new crown combines excellent home hygiene habits with regular professional care at Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry. Dr. Angela Ojibway and the caring team are committed to ensuring your crown functions beautifully for many years.
If you have any questions about caring for your crown, or if you experience any concerns as you adjust to your new restoration, don’t hesitate to contact the practice. The team is known for taking time to address patient questions thoroughly, ensuring you feel confident about your dental care.
Contact Dunwoody Family & Cosmetic Dentistry today to schedule your next dental exam and professional cleaning. The practice serves patients throughout Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, and surrounding communities, providing compassionate, comprehensive dental care in a beautiful, welcoming environment where patients feel like family.