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What if a dental crown breaks?

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While we hope that the work we do will last a long time, we have no idea how long dental restorations (dental crowns or dental fillings) will last.  A lifetime?  A year?  Probably somewhere in between. After a dental crown breaks, what then?

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Immediately after braces come off (or alternative methods are completed), retainers are to be worn as much as possible for a period of time, usually about 3 months.  After that, one can usually go to night time use only (wear while sleeping).  While teeth may shift a bit during the day and move back at night while wearing retainers, this movement is considered insignificant.

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MOST of the time, the broken dental crown is simply replaced.  If enough tooth structure remains, the prepared surface can be cleaned up, smoothed, and a new impression is taken to fabricate a new crown.  Sometimes we are asked (or it is assumed) if the original impression can be reused.  The simple answer: no.  There is NO dental office that keeps old impressions, and digital impressions no longer represent the tooth in its current state.  The bottom line is we are starting over.

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Often, the fracture is an indication that the tooth is hopeless and must be replaced.  People call stating “my filling came out” or “my crown broke” but when we actually look inside their mouth, the filling remains but the tooth is broken, or the crown is solid but the tooth is broken inside.  Either way, it isn’t a simple solution. If the tooth is removed, what then?  Are we looking at a dental implant or a bridge?  Or is it now time to consider dentures?  The solution may be a large investment, or it may be simple and cheap.

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