• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Question for people with dental implants: Crown on implant gappy or narrow at base getting food stuck, is this normal?

NervousUSA

NervousUSA

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 9, 2022
Messages
471
Location
USA
Just got a crown on a dental implant. It is a lower molar. Maybe it is because the base of the crown needs to fit onto the dental implant which doesn't have as large as a diameter as a molar's root would, but there is a big gap between the crown and the tooth next to it on each side around the base of the crown, though the width of the top of the crown is like a normal molar, so the gap doesn't extend all the way up to the top. In fact it is hard to get floss in at the top because it is so tight. These gaps get packed with food, and if it is something like fiberous vegetables or nuts, I usually can't get it out without flossing which is not great for eating outside of my home. If you have a crown on a dental implant is it shaped like mine and are you having these issues with food?
 
Last edited:
Just got a crown on a dental implant. It is a lower molar. Maybe it is because the base of the crown needs to fit onto the dental implant which doesn't have as large as a diameter as a molar's root would, but there is a big gap between the crown and the tooth next to it on each side around the base of the crown, though the width of the top of the crown is like a normal molar, so the gap doesn't extend all the way up to the top. In fact it is hard to get floss in at the top because it is so tight. These gaps get packed with food, and if it is something like fiberous vegetables or nuts, I usually can't get it out without flossing which is not great for eating outside of my home. If you have a crown on a dental implant is it shaped like mine and are you having these issues with food?
I have the same issue with one of my crowns. It is a gum level crown, on an implant, and I constantly get food stuck between it and the premolar next to it. I can’t get it out without flossing either. I don’t have the issue with the two implant crowns that are bone level. I don’t know if that is the reason, but it is super annoying.
 
@MountainMama Sorry you have to deal with this annoying issue too! Possibly of interest, I put my question on Quora for dentists to answer and got the following answers from two dentists.
Dentist 1:
"It can be, yes. The implant is a single cylinder, often replacing two or three roots. It’s just not going to match the shape of the roots it’s replacing. Also, there has likely already been some bone loss before the implant was placed, and which may continue after implant placement, which leaves space where food can get caught. Is it ideal? No. Is it sometimes the best that can be achieved? Yes. We don’t expect artificial joints to function as well as the joints they replace; neither should we expect this of artificial teeth. We get as close as we can by making the crown’s contacts as ideal as possible."
Dentist 2:
"Implant base is round and will never be the same size of a natural tooth root system. It will always be something like a lollipop. There will always be som space open between. Most dentists and labs try to allow no space bc they want to avoid the patient’s comments exactly what you said. However this is very conducive to gum deterioration and leads to periimplantitis. The goal is to give a solid biting surface, it will not be a one to one replica of a natural tooth. There has to be gum friendly design for easier cleaning around each implant. Closed off , no spaces doom th implants in the long run. This short term thinking professionals is terrible."
 
In case it is useful for anyone who looks at this thread down the line, I wanted to add one more answer from Quora, from a dentist who is an implant specialist:

"Reducing the neck of the crown improves gum tissue health by facilitating a larger volume of new bone growth at the implant platform. If a gap is formed that traps an excessive amount of food, the crown contours should be re-evaluated".
 
Last edited:
Hi, I've the same issues too 😂 just got my dental implant crown on today. It's a lower first molar. I can feel a tightness pressure between the crown and my premolar. I tried flossing but couldn't get it through, but the strange thing is that the dentist could floss through the tight contact. Asked her if it's possible to shave down slightly on the side of the crown that's facing the premolar but she she mentioned that no she wouldn't suggest it since the floss is able to pass through (it's just require slightly more strength) and that if she shave it down, there'll be a large gap for food to stuck itself in. She says to monitor a few days and if its still bothering me alot, then she'll need to take the crown out and polish it. Looks like most of the people experience the same thing. Does it get better over the days?

She adjusted my bite for quite awhile as I'm very sensitive to bite sensation. I rather it be too short than too high. Currently the bite feels okay, it's only the tightness that's bothering me whenever I chew or pay extra attention to thst sensation.

My crown are not on the same height as my second molar too as my second molar tilted too much but it's the same height as my premolar. Molar of the story is not to wait too long before getting an implant after extracting a tooth.
 
@AngelCatMei I think m crown was bigger or more oversized than yours, and when my dentist was trying it in and taking it out and polishing it, it got stuck, and he couldn't pull it out, or screw it all the way down. Neither he or I could floss it. What ended up happing is it shifted my teeth. It took a few days for me to be able to floss. In my case the teeth shifting was very painful and I had pain going from my left premolar and all teeth between it and my right canine. It was very painful. I am now able to floss, but crooked teeth I have in the area that cause me problems got worse. It took several months for me to have as good as a bite as I had before the crown, and I am not sure it is quite as good as it was. The tight pressure sensation of the crown, with it feeling like something stuck between my teeth lasted several months. Maybe 3. Do you have blanching or white gums around your crown?
 
@NervousUSA I've blanching when the crown was first seated but now the blanching is gone. It's gone in less than an hour. Oh no, yours sound really really painful. It being oversize is definitely the lab issues. But at least I'm glad you're not feeling the tightness and able to floss through now. But the shifting of the other teeth, it's really a shame 😭
 
@AngelCatMei Wow that is fast! I had blanching for 5 days. I think it is actually a really good sign for you that you could floss right away and didn't have blanching for long, I think it means you have a good fit, so hopefully very little or not tooth shifting will happen, and you will soon be done with the tight pressure sensation.
 
@NervousUSA the tightness feeling is gone! The contact between my molar and premolar is getting better. However, I noticed some pain while I was chewing my food yesterday and today. I don't have this kinda of pain on the second day. Think it only started after I ate a really hard cracker 😅 now I'm panicking as I'm afraid of the implant failing due to my neglect. Did you experience any pain during the first few days of the crown placement beside from blanching?
 
Great, I am glad it's improving. Aside from blancing/gum pain, I had a lot of pain in surrounding teeth. I was in pain in my surrounding teeth for about 5 days. It started with all my teeth hurting from my left premolar (next to the crown) all the way across to my right canine. Day by day, tooth by tooth, the pain withdrew closer to the crown. I felt tightness and uncomfortable pressure for several months, with some pain, and my implant still seems OK, so I wouldn't worry about some pain while eating with it still being so recent for you, for me that type of thing went on way longer than this. I also just had random pain in the implant from time to time too, which I saw the dentist about, and they said it was healthy.
 
Back
Top