Should You Repair a Broken Dental Crown Yourself?

If your crown or a piece of your crown breaks away from your tooth, you may be tempted to try and fix it yourself to save time and money. A quick Internet search will bring you a variety of DIY solutions, especially using superglue. Unfortunately, these practices both dangerous for your oral health and ineffective. For all services related to dental crowns in Oshawa, you need to see your dentist.

Why DIY Methods Are Ineffective and Unsafe

Superglue bonds well to surfaces that are nonporous — like a dental crown. A tooth, however, is very porous, meaning it is difficult to create adhesion between the two surfaces. Your crown may stay in place a short time, but it will soon fall off again. The key to keeping a crown in place is the right shape and a tight fit. For this reason, dentists use cement rather than glue.

Furthermore, if you apply superglue, the chemicals may seep through the tooth, killing the inside of your tooth. This will require a root canal, but you may still lose the tooth. It is also easy to have accidents with superglue — if you get any on your lips, for instance, they will stick together.

What Your Dentist Will Do

A broken or chipped crown is typically not an emergency. Your dentist will schedule an appointment for repair as soon as possible, usually within the next two days. An exception is if the broken crown has left a jagged edge and is cutting into the mouth or otherwise causing you discomfort. In these cases, your dentist will see you sooner.

Depending on the extent of the damage, your dentist may be able to repair the crown, either by smoothing the surface or by applying resin. If the entire crown has broken off, your dentist will create a new crown.