Anxiety about chewing on crown

[motheroftwins1611]

Hello, all. I am glad I found this group. I have always had severe anxiety about losing my teeth. It was always my worst fear. I never realized there were others out there like me. My worst fear came true last summer when I broke a tooth and had to have a post and core crown put in. That was very tough and traumatizing time in my life, and my mental health deteriorated.

It is coming up on a year now since I had the crown placed and for the most part, I am doing well and had not had any trouble with the crown. However, I am still quite afraid of chewing and biting down on the crown. A year later, I still have not done much chewing on that side. I only have the one crown and I have no dental work on the opposite side of my mouth, and I use my good side to chew 99.9% of the time, which I know that is probably not good and will wear my jaw down on that side. The dentist that Did my crown assured me I could eat whatever I wanted, but surely some foods are off limits? I broke my real tooth on popcorn, so I imagine biting into a hard kernel would be detrimental to the crown? I also imagine nuts, hard candy, or chewy caramel either breaking the crown or pulling it right off.

Does anyone with crowns eat these things with no problems or truly eat what they want? Some websites say to avoid these foods with a crown, others say you can eat with no restrictions. I always plan to be careful my with crown, but how can I get over this mental block about chewing even softer foods on it? If anyone has some advice or guidance I would appreciate it. I don’t know many people with crowns, as most people I know can’t afford them. Thanks to anyone who replies.

 

[geos]

Let's start with regular chewing. As long as the crown was made properly, it should be able to withstand your chewing with absolutely no issues. You don't mention which tooth was replaced, but do note that many crowns include metal that reinforce the porcelain to reduce the risk of breaking. For food such as nuts, popcorn, very sticky food, you should be careful and avoid as much as possible, just as you should be for your regular teeth. My dentist's assistant told me one day she broke a tooth while eating popcorn and was going to see her own dentist to fix it. She knows the damage it can cause, but she still was eating it. You need to find the balance that works for you between keeping it safe for your teeth and enjoying the food you like.

For going over the mental block, try eating very soft food you know won't break the crown and slowly move to chewier food at your own pace. Each time I got a crown, I did this over a few weeks. My dentist say I should be able to chew normally on it once I'm ready to eat after my appointment, but I still do this slow progression just to make it comfortable and get used to the feeling of having a crown.

 

[Enarete]

Hi there, I would add that very often it looks like a tooth broke on a certain kind of food, but in reality it was compromised already and it is only a question of time until it would break. Many people tell stories about how they broke teeth on croissants or other really soft foods but that‘s not necessarily the causality. You will also find people - or maybe it happened to you in the past - who bit into something really hard per accidents, and nothing happened.
So maybe thinking of what had happened as a bad luck more than as something caused by certain foods may help.
I have had a crown on a molar for about ten years and never even thought of not chewing on it. As geos suggests, it‘s also about what tooth got crowned, but if your dentist told you to eat everything on it, then obviously everything can be eaten on it. Your dentist must know better than google as he did the crown..

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi,
Porcelain is a stronger material than the tooth enamel, especially with the condemning forces applied during chewing.
I would recommend being alert whether the crowned tooth feels uncomfortable when chewing, that is much more important than anything.

 

[Thephilsblogbar]

I once broke part of my tooth/filling off whilst eating some fish from the chip shop, I think it was the fish batter which did it, I did go into the dentist next dya to have it fixed my parents forgot I did this and forget how anxious I get about my teeth (even though i still have problems)

I been told I may need a crown doing, so one of my parents can go down with me or the dentist can give me a leaflet telling which foods I should avoid. and how properly to clean it.

 

[MountainMama]

I had one crown over a molar that broke (eating a chip). The tooth had previously had a filling, so it was already weak. It felt weird for months afterwards but I was able to eat pretty much anything on it, even though mine was poorly done as well.
I also have three implant crowns and can eat anything on those as well.
Remember that your crown is I damaged, and that the purpose is to cover your tooth to prevent damage. So the crown is made to withstand force on it.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Motheroftwins1611,

Welcome to DFC. You are in the right place. For me, every single tooth I have is a crown, an implant crown, or in construction previously dentures on bottom. no regular teeth left. What I can say is for years I've eaten on all crowns and could eat nearly anything.

I was careful of very hard foods like hard toffee or hard candy I avoided. but other than that my crowns withstood every kind of food, even ate popcorn for years and never had an issue. I think it is what @Enarete said too, even if it breaks on a certain food, it could be because it previously had an issue and that was its time. I once had a crown come off on bacon.. well. it was very compromised.. that is why.

So encourage you to enjoy your food, and respect your body and mind when it gives you a little twinge of be careful I know Crowns have been a huge blessing to me .