When a Crown Feels Off

I have a dental crown that feels off. My dentist has tinkered with it and says there is nothing wrong. I can’t explain exactly what feels off, it just does. My dentist thinks I am just not used to having a dental crown there, but this isn’t my first crown. Is this in my mind or should I pursue it further?

Meagan

Dear Meagan,

I would follow up with this though you may have to do it with a different dentist. When a dental crown is properly done with no other underlying issues, you shouldn’t notice it at all. It should feel just like a healthy natural tooth. If it doesn’t, then something else is going on.

A colleague of mine had a similar issue. Fortunately, he was a dentist so he was fairly confident that there was something off and, as a peer, wouldn’t be pressured into thinking it was all in his head.

After a periapical x-ray, which shows from the crown to beyond the tooth root, revealed that he had extensive decay on the tooth underneath the crown. He couldn’t feel the pain from it because that tooth had previously had a root canal treatment done. To protect him from the infection getting into the bone and going from an urgent dental need to a life-threatening emergency, he ended up having the remainder of the tooth extracted and a dental implant placed there.

You didn’t say what the crown was for and I do realize you weren’t able to describe what felt off, but if it is pain in any way, one of the first things I would do is have an x-ray done. There could be some additional decay or maybe you had a root canal treatment that failed. There are some canals in the tooth which are almost impossible to get to.

Follow your gut and follow up. If this dentist won’t listen to you, find another one. The best dentists listen to their patients.

This blog is brought to you by Naperville Dentist Dr. David Newkirk.