I had no trouble with my dental implant surgery. The surgeon was wonderful, and his follow-up care was thorough. I thanked my dentist for referring me to the surgeon. I received three implants, and my dentist restored them with beautiful crowns. I also received a new crown for a root canal tooth. But that crown is nothing but trouble. Within the past two months, the crown fell off four times. My dentist is happy to reattach it, but I am getting frustrated.

My dentist said that if it keeps happening that he will order a new crown. It seems that he doesn’t know how to stop the problem without a new crown. I am concerned that all the work on this tooth has made it even weaker. And how do I know that I won’t have the same problem with a new crown? I don’t like the idea of walking away from my dentist, but I’m not sure that he knows what to do about this crown. Is my tooth going to crumble away and fall apart? Thank you. Bryan

Bryan,

We are happy that you had a good experience with your dental implants and implant crowns. Unfortunately, the root canal tooth and crown are causing problems. When a crown repeatedly falls off, it is frustrating. But it’s relatively easy to identify the problem.

Why Does a Dental Crown Keep Falling Off?

A dental crown falls off due to two factors: bonding strength and the shape of your prepared tooth. Either or both factors will cause a crown to loosen and fall off.

• Tooth preparation: When a dentist slightly tapers your natural tooth in preparation for a crown, it increases the surface contact between the crown and tooth. Even the weakest cement will keep the crown on. But aggressive tapering—grinding the tooth down to a stump—increases the risk of a loose crown that falls off.
• Bonding strength: Your dentist must choose cement strong enough to keep the crown attached to your tooth.

If your dentist cannot keep the new crown on your tooth, it might be best to get a second opinion. Or you can get a second opinion right away. Depending on how aggressively your dentist prepared your tooth, an advanced cosmetic dentist can build up the tooth with bonding to ensure the crown is secure.

 

Gilberto Tostado, DDS, of San Antonio, TX, sponsors this post.