What to expect from permanent crowns?

[tammay]

Hi Everyone,
First, this forum has been awesome! I appreciate the support that everyone has showed. I'm one of those who had a phobia of dentists not to mention no insurance/money to pay for dental work for many years and just began to take care of it a few months ago. I had to have 2 root canals and 4 crowns done on my upper left side. I did the first two (which were the molar teeth next to the wisdom tooth) and I had some adjustments to make but overall they seem to be good now. I did those a few weeks ago. The other two (which are right next to them, no root canals, just crowns) I just got the permanent crowns in yesterday.

Since this is the first time I have had to have crowns done I'm not sure what to expect. The first two I got felt like they were a little long, as I felt like when I was chewing, I could feel the posts underneath digging into my gums. It wasn't painful but it was uncomfortable to chew. I got those adjusted and they seem better now (but this might be because I got the other two crowns put in so I'm chewing more evenly among the 4 teeth rather than putting all the weight on those two crowns). Today I feel the same thing with my 2 new permanent crowns though they don't feel like they're long like the other ones did.

Is this normal? Is it just a question of my getting used to the crowns before I no longer feel the pressure of the post underneath the crown when I chew? Or does the crown need to be adjusted? I'm just not sure what I should be experiencing and how long it takes to get used to a permanent crown.

Thanks!

Tam

 

[FearfulInMA]

I would say that if it feels long or high that you should get it looked at ASAP. A long/high crown can cause a lot of discomfort quickly. This discomfort is much less likely to happen with a root canaled tooth b/c it nerves are dead. With a 'live' tooth, you will feel irritation even if the bite is just a little bit off.

 

[tammay]

Thank you for the advice! I have a very off bite as it is (the dental assistant told me). I'm not feeling the crowns are particularly long (i.e., they are not hitting my lower teeth too soon when I chew) but obviously they are so I need to go in for adjustments. I'm almost sorry they couldn't keep the temporary crowns in, as those didn't give me any problems :-D.

Tam