A new crown that feels high, hits before your other teeth or hurts when you bite down usually touches the opposite teeth too early. It does not settle by itself. Call the dentist who placed it: a small adjustment, reshaping the biting surface and polishing it, usually fixes it in a short visit. Mild sensitivity to hot and cold for a couple of weeks, by contrast, is common.
Why can a new crown feel high?
Your bite is set to fractions of a millimeter. While the tooth is numb it is hard to feel whether the new crown meets the other teeth evenly, so a slightly high spot may only show up once the numbness wears off. The same thing can happen with a new filling: pain when biting down can occur when the new restoration interferes with your bite.
What is normal after a new crown, and what isn't?
- Common and usually temporary: some sensitivity to heat and cold for a couple of weeks, and mild gum soreness around the tooth.
- Worth a call: the bite feels uneven, the crowned tooth hits first, or chewing on it hurts.
- Call promptly: swelling, pain that keeps getting worse, or a crown that feels loose.
What happens at the adjustment visit?
The dentist checks where the crown touches using marking paper, reshapes the high spot and polishes the surface so the tooth meets the others evenly. Leaving a high crown alone can make the tooth sore and put extra strain on it, so it is worth having it checked rather than chewing on the other side.
What does our office offer?
At our Deerfield Beach office we place porcelain crowns, dental crowns and CEREC crowns, and we check and adjust the bite on crowns and fillings. If your crown was placed here and feels high, call (954) 427-3000.
General information, not a diagnosis. Questions about your own teeth: call Dr. Angela Berkovich, DMD at (954) 427-3000. For facial swelling, a fever or trouble breathing or swallowing, seek urgent medical care.
Sources
- Cleveland Clinic: Dental Fillings: Types, Materials & What They're For
- American Association of Endodontists: Root Canal Post Treatment Care
- Cleveland Clinic: Dental Crowns: Types, Procedure & Care