Dental Crowns: Tips For Eating With The Crown

Dentist Blog

Dental crowns are made of sturdy materials that allow them to cap your tooth and protect it from damage. While you should be able to eat a good amount of food with crowns, they can still get damaged. Here are some tips for eating when you have a dental crown.

Foods You Can Eat

First of all, you should be aware of the types of foods you can eat. Crowns are actually very durable, so you can still eats most kinds of foods. If you had a temporary crown prior to the permanent crown, you were probably advised to eat mostly a soft food diet of soup, mashed potatoes, yogurt, and gelatin. With the permanent crown, it can handle different food consistencies, such as meat, cheese, pizza, rice, and pasta. Even salads should be fine, as long as you are careful about extra-crunchy ingredients like croutons. The majority of the food you enjoy can still be eaten with a crown.

Avoid Hot and Cold Temperatures

It can seem counterproductive when you are sensitive to hot and cold temperatures prior to a root canal, only to get treatment and have the same sensitivity with a crown. However, some people do still experience this sensitivity. This is why you should be careful with foods or drinks that have extreme hot and cold temperatures. It might not be quite as painful as it was before you got the root canal, but crowns are sometimes sensitive to certain temperatures. It is best to avoid these extreme temperatures until you know what you can handle.

Be Careful With Hard, Crunchy, and Sticky Foods

You also want to be careful with hard and crunchy foods, as they can wear down your crown. Crowns can handle a good amount of pressure while chewing, but they are not as strong as natural teeth. In order to prevent the crown from breaking or popping off prematurely, try not to eat foods that are too hard. This includes hard nuts like almonds and macadamia nuts. If you like nuts for protein, stick to softer varieties like cashews and peanuts. Also avoid foods that are especially sticky, as this could also wear down the crown over time and cause damage to it.

Don't Consume a Lot of Sugar

Just like natural teeth, porcelain crowns are susceptible to damage when you consume a lot of sugar. The sugar content of many foods and drinks, like candy, soft drinks, and fruit juice, can ruin the outer layer of porcelain, which will make it more susceptible to cracking or breaking.

For more information about crown care, contact a local dentist such as Dental Associates PC.

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16 September 2015