i had a crown placed this afternoon & it is too high, can the dentist shave down the crown a little bit to make my bite better?

If you have a "high crown" you should definitely return to your dentist to have it adjusted.  Having it adjusted is a pretty quick procedure.  Dentists will most often have a patient bite down on wax paper to determine the area of too much contact.  High teeth will show much more contact with the opposing teeth, than the other teeth will.  If you do not have your bite adjusted soon, you can expected to experience increased soreness as all the pressure from your bite is focused on a single tooth.  Good luck and I hope this helps. Follow me if you have more questions.Sarah Thompson, DMD

Your dentist should be able to check and adjust the crown if it is too high, even after it has been cemented into place.It is not uncommon to have a patient say the bite feels good, and no particular marks with the bite adjustment paper....and then several days later the patient feels a little unevenness to the bite and needs to return for further adjustments.  However, if it is high and you don't return to your dentist for necessary adjustments you might find you will be having muscle or jaw joint pain, sensitivity to cold and possibly need a root canal treatment.  And uneven bite can lead to problems if not adjusted to produce an even, balanced bite.