What Should Be Done If The Temporary Dental Crown Adhesive Fails to Keep The Crown in Place?

It is important that you have the temporary crown re-cemented as soon as you can. The tooth can have sensitivity and can shift causing your permanent crown to fit incorrectly. If you can't get to your dentist you can place the crown back on the tooth using Denture gel. Use a minute amount and gently place the crown back on your tooth. There is only 1 way to place the crown. The crown should fit comfortably when you bite on it. Do this gently as you do not want to break the crown. Call your dentist and get it recemented as soon as you can. Good luck.

If your temporary crown fell off, if might be necessary to have it replaced ASAP or it might be the case that you can wait.   It all depends on the individual case.  You should call your dentist and ask.  In any case its best not to let it go too long without the temporary.

Best,

Dr. Alper

Temporary crown adhesives are inherently weak.  This is intentional so that the dentist can easily remove the temporary and clean off the tooth prior to final crown placement.  The fact that temporary crowns are made very quickly and with materials that continue to shrink as they fully cure can result in a temporary crown that does not fit the tooth accurately.

The temporary crown is needed to protect the prepared tooth from fracture and to maintain the spacing of the teeth for easy crown placement.  If the temporary comes off, clean out the crown and push it back into place.  If it stays, get back to the dental office when you have a chance.  If it falls right off, have your dentist re-cement the temporary or get a temporary crown cement kit from the local pharmacy.  Even denture adhesive can be used.

We avoid all of this in our office by using the CEREC CAD/CAM System.  We prepare the tooth, design the crown on a computer and mill an all porcelain crown all in one visit.  This eliminates the need for a temporary crown and provides a more precise fitting restoration than we used to get sending an impression to the dental lab.  Check out our website for more information about this technology.