What should I do if my crown falls off?
If a crown falls off, keep it in a clean container, rinse your mouth and call the dentist to be seen within a few days. Avoid chewing on that side and keep the tooth clean. Temporary dental cement from a pharmacy can hold a crown for a day or two, but never use superglue. At Creative Arts in Dubai we check whether the crown can be re-cemented or the tooth needs more treatment first.
Who treats you here Dr. Khalid Saeed Co-founder & Dentist · Dr. Kinan Bonni Dentist · Dr. Marina Antoniuk Dentist
Every dentist’s licence can be checked on the DHA Sheryan medical directory.
What should you do in the first hour?
- Find the crown and keep it. Rinse it gently, dry it and keep it in a small clean container or zip bag. Do not wrap it in a tissue, which is easily thrown away. A crown in good condition can often be re-cemented, which is quicker and cheaper than making a new one.
- Check whether you swallowed it. If you cannot find it and think you swallowed it while eating, and you feel well, it usually passes through without harm; tell your dentist. If you coughed or choked when it came off, or you have coughing, wheezing, chest pain or difficulty breathing, it may have gone into your airway: seek medical help immediately.
- Look at the tooth. Note whether it is whole, broken, dark or tender. A photo on your phone helps when you call.
- Rinse and keep it clean. Rinse with warm water, and brush the tooth gently. A tooth without its crown is more prone to decay.
- Call the clinic. At Creative Arts we are open every day from 10:00 to 20:00. Describe what happened and whether there is pain.
Is a crown that fell off an emergency?
Most lost crowns can wait a day or two for an appointment, provided the tooth is comfortable. These situations change that.
| Situation | How urgent | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Crown intact, tooth comfortable | Within a few days | Keep the crown, avoid chewing on it, book an appointment |
| Tooth sensitive to air and cold | Within a day or two | Sensitive toothpaste dabbed on the tooth, avoid cold, consider pharmacy temporary cement |
| Front tooth, and you need to be seen in public | Soon, for appearance | Call and explain; ask whether the crown can be refitted or a temporary placed |
| Tooth broken with the crown, or a sharp edge cutting the tongue | Same or next day if possible | Cover the edge with dental wax or sugar-free gum, call the clinic |
| Throbbing pain, swelling of the gum or a bad taste | Promptly | Call the clinic; infection under the crown needs assessment |
| Coughing, wheezing or breathing difficulty after losing it | Immediately | Hospital emergency department: the crown may have been inhaled |
Go to a hospital emergency department straight away for facial swelling with fever, difficulty breathing or swallowing, swelling spreading to the eye or neck, bleeding that will not stop, or a head or face injury. Creative Arts is not a 24-hour service.
Can you put a crown back on yourself?
For a day or two, sometimes. Pharmacies sell temporary dental cement kits designed for exactly this, and they can protect the tooth and keep the crown in place until your appointment. Use them carefully:
- First try the crown on without cement. It should seat fully and your bite should feel normal. If it does not fit, do not force it.
- Clean out old cement from inside the crown, rinse the tooth and dry both.
- Use a small amount of cement, seat the crown, bite gently, and clear away the excess, especially between the teeth.
- Eat on the other side and book to have it properly re-cemented.
Never use superglue or household adhesives. They are not designed for the mouth, can irritate the gum and nerve, may set with the crown slightly out of place so your bite is wrong, and are very hard to remove. A crown glued with them often cannot be re-cemented properly and ends up being replaced.
Do not try to refit a crown if the tooth underneath has broken, if a post came out with it, or if it was on an implant. Those need the dentist.
Why do crowns come off?
Crowns are held by cement or by bonding, and by the shape of the tooth they sit on. They usually come off for one of these reasons:
- Decay under the crown. The most common cause in older crowns. Decay at the edge eats away the tooth and the cement, and the crown loosens. It can progress without pain, which is why our page on decay under a crown is worth reading if yours came off without warning.
- Too little tooth to hold on to. A short or heavily broken tooth gives the crown little grip.
- Sticky or hard food. Toffee, chewing gum and dates can pull a crown off, especially one that was already loosening.
- Grinding and clenching. Repeated heavy forces break the cement seal over time.
- A fracture of the tooth, sometimes with the post and core inside it.
- Age. Older cements can wash out after many years.
If you have a temporary crown, it is held with deliberately weak cement and comes off more easily; that guide explains what to do.
If your crown cannot be re-cemented, a new one is designed and made in the laboratory in our building. See how crowns are planned at Creative Arts in Dubai.
Dental crownsWhat will the dentist do: re-cement or replace?
It depends on the crown and, above all, on the tooth underneath. An X-ray is usually taken before deciding.
| What is found | Usual next step |
|---|---|
| Crown intact, tooth sound, cement washed out | Clean both and re-cement the same crown |
| Small decay at the edge of the tooth | Remove decay, rebuild with a filling or core, then re-cement or make a new crown |
| Crown cracked, chipped or no longer fitting | A new crown, with a temporary in the meantime |
| Much of the tooth broken away | Core build-up, sometimes with a post, then a new crown |
| Decay or infection reaching the nerve | Root canal treatment first, then a new crown |
| Root fractured or too little tooth left to restore | Extraction, then an implant, a bridge or another option |
If the crown was on an implant, the screw or the connecting part may have loosened. That is often fixable; see implant repair.
How do you protect the tooth until your appointment?
- Chew on the other side. The uncovered tooth is weaker and can break.
- Avoid very hot, cold and sugary food and drinks, which may cause sharp sensitivity and feed decay.
- Keep it clean. Brush the exposed tooth gently twice a day with fluoride toothpaste; a dab of toothpaste for sensitive teeth left on it can ease sensitivity.
- Pain relief: over-the-counter pain relief, taken as directed on the label or by your pharmacist, usually manages discomfort. Do not place tablets against the gum.
- Do not wait weeks. Without its crown, the tooth can break, decay faster, and the neighbouring and opposite teeth can start to move into the space, so the old crown no longer fits.
If you are visiting Dubai or away from your usual dentist, our dental first aid guide covers other common problems. For a filling that has come out rather than a crown, see what to do when a filling falls out.
How can you stop a crown coming off again?
When a crown is re-cemented or replaced, your dentist will look at why it came off: decay, too little tooth, the bite or a habit. Each has its own fix, from a better-retained core to a night guard if you grind. At home, clean carefully along the edge of the crown and between the teeth, go easy on very sticky food, and keep regular check-ups so decay at the margin is found early. Our guide to how long crowns last explains what else shortens a crown's life. At Creative Arts, crowns are assessed and restored by Dr. Khalid Saeed, Dr. Kinan Bonni and Dr. Marina Antoniuk.