What should I do if my teeth under the crowns hurt after dentures?

Many patients of orthopedic dentists after prosthetics talk about how difficult it was for them to get used to dentures. High-quality permanent artificial teeth and crowns are compact in size and do not cause any discomfort. But with removable ones, problems arise: from unpleasant sensations in the palate and irritating pressure on the gums to constant nausea and even a gag reflex. Each patient experiences the adaptation process in his own way, so it can last only a couple of days, one or two weeks, or several months.

Why does discomfort occur?

A person with missing teeth gets used to living without them. His dental system begins to distribute the chewing load differently, and the muscles, cheeks, nerves, tongue and jaw bones involved in the process gradually get used to the restructuring that has occurred.

If missing teeth can be restored with permanent dentures, the parameters of which are almost identical to natural teeth, the load when chewing food turns out to be natural. And the absence of foreign elements - fixing hooks and staples - guarantees the absence of irritation of the mucous membranes of the cheeks and tongue.

In removable structures, the chewing load is distributed differently. For example, popular clasp dentures distribute it to the palate and the remaining adjacent teeth. It is clear that the sensations when chewing food will be unusual at first and will almost certainly cause irritation.

Causes of tooth pain under a crown or denture

If you have not had root canal treatment to remove the pulp before getting a crown, pressure on the damaged nerve may cause pain.

Patients with malocclusion and bruxism may experience pain at night from pressing on ridges or areas of the tooth that are higher than normal.
If the denture has shifted, exposing part of the tooth, or, worse, is pressing on the dental nerve, then the slightest pressure or change in temperature can send strong pain signals.
Teeth under a crown are also at risk for all the problems associated with regular teeth, meaning they can become infected, break, and become vulnerable if the enamel wears down. And this can cause pain.

What inconveniences can you encounter after prosthetics?

Dentists installing dentures in Moscow warn in advance about possible discomfort that may manifest itself:

noticeably irritating sensation of a foreign body in the oral cavity;
pain caused by the pressure of the structure on the supporting teeth and especially the gums;
rubbing of mucous membranes, redness and swelling, formation of bedsores on the gums;
a feeling of poor closure of the jaws and teeth;
increased salivation caused by the perception of the prosthesis as food that needs to be easier to move from the mouth to the throat;
the appearance of gagging as a reaction to the presence of a foreign body in the mouth;
impaired diction, which can be caused by even the best removable dentures (the tongue needs time to get used to changing position when pronouncing sounds);
partial loss of taste of products caused by the closure of certain areas of the oral mucosa by the prosthesis.

What to do if a tooth hurts under a denture?

If toothache occurs after dentures, the first priority is to identify the cause as soon as possible and apply appropriate therapeutic measures. This problem will not resolve on its own, and any home remedies will not be effective. Therefore, do not wait and contact your dentist for professional help.

If the dentist discovers a tooth infection under the crown, he or she may recommend root canal treatment, which usually requires removal of the denture. In some cases, a hole can be drilled into the crown, allowing the dentist to access the root canal without having to remove and install another crown. This is a complex operation, but it will save you money since the removed crowns are often no longer reusable.

Do you really have to put up with this?

Making dentures is quite a complex job, in some ways even comparable to art. Working in tandem, the orthopedic surgeon and the dental technician put a lot of effort into making an accurate and as comfortable prosthesis as possible. But in most cases, after putting it on and wearing it, it turns out that it needs some adjustment to the patient’s gums.

To regain lost comfort, you need to walk with the installed structure for 3–4 weeks. During this time, you can get used to the initially interfering prosthesis and get rid of the unpleasant sensations. If you simply remove it when discomfort appears, then you will have to describe all the inconveniences experienced in words, and the doctor will not be able to understand what exactly caused them. Do you want the correction to be effective? Be sure to come to your appointment wearing a prosthesis that causes discomfort.

Correction of dentures is carried out within 15–20 minutes. As a rule, it is possible to restore the patient’s comfort in one or two visits to the dental clinic.

Why do my teeth hurt and my gums hurt after grinding my teeth for a crown?

Hello Svetlana! Yes, you have a lot of questions, let’s look at them in order. In general, in a good way, your teeth shouldn’t hurt after grinding. And your gums shouldn't hurt. It happens that when work is carried out on living teeth, there may be a slightly increased sensitivity to thermal stimuli - cold, hot water. At this moment, despite the fact that there are temporary crowns, the patient still needs to observe a little temperature control in food. Not very hot, but not very cold either. If the winter season is cold, then it is advisable not to breathe through your mouth so as not to get pulpitis, because the tooth is a little, so to speak, “stripped”, it lacks a small layer of enamel. At such a moment, he, of course, can react to cold air. Another cause of discomfort after tooth preparation - grinding - can be a reaction from the gums to the retraction thread, because the retraction thread is laid along the neck of the tooth, and this is most often done with the use of anesthesia so that the entire manipulation is comfortable and painless. But then, during this day, there may be slight discomfort and even slight pain in the area of the ground teeth that were subjected to this procedure. But such pain should have a short-term effect.

Of course, all this will go away on its own, but if you don’t want to endure it, you can take some painkiller that usually helps, which you already know. Of the well-known ones, we can recommend Nurofen or the drug Ketanov. But here it is better to consult with your doctor.

There is no point in enduring pain for a long time, because if there is pain and if it is such that you really have to endure it when a person “climbs the wall,” then of course this is a reason to contact the doctor and tell him about this situation. And my next answer to the question is important, and I ask you to pay special attention to it.

What consequences can the situation lead to if the cause of the pain is not removed?

If the cause of the pain is not eliminated, the situation can lead to pulpitis, that is, inflammation of the nerve.
And depending on what your pain sensitivity threshold is, some are able to endure it or endure it on painkillers. But when the pulp, that is, the nerve in common parlance, dies, the decay products go into the bone tissue and the situation turns into another disease called periodontitis, that is, inflammation of the tissues surrounding the tooth. From the point of view of tooth preservation, this is already a risky event, that is, such a tooth can be lost later if not treated. But, I hope, you only have a slight malaise, which should go away within the first 24 hours.

Possible causes of complications

If your teeth hurt after installing veneers, the likely reason is the following:

excessive preparation of enamel;
the linings are incorrectly selected in shape and size;
chipped or detached veneer from the enamel;
untreated caries;
use of low-quality materials.

If the shape and size are incorrectly selected, the lining will protrude beyond the boundaries of the tooth and put pressure on the gum and neighboring units. When the enamel is deeply ground, the teeth begin to react with pain to temperature stimuli. Another cause of complications is improper application of the composite adhesive. Overdrying of the composition causes the appearance of microcracks, into which pathogenic bacteria penetrate over time, destroying dental tissue.

Why does my gum hurt?

Sometimes the teeth do not react at all, but the gums hurt after grinding. Let's list the reasons for this:

physiological reaction to an anesthetic injection,
gum retraction: in order to qualitatively fit the prosthesis to the soft tissues and eliminate discomfort during operation, as well as to create a highly accurate design that fully corresponds to all the anatomical features of the patient, before taking impressions, specialists widen the periodontal sulcus. For the procedure, special threads are most often used, which are inserted under the gum and lift it. Such manipulations lead to the fact that the gums then become slightly inflamed and swollen, and also hurt for several days,
individual reaction of the patient and allergies to the medications used during the grinding process: in this case, the gums may itch and itch, a rash appears on them,
traumatic gingivitis and periodontitis: if in the process the specialist damaged the gums, then the patient experiences persistent aching pain, swelling and bleeding of the mucous membrane. As a rule, it all starts with gingivitis, but if the disease is neglected, it is complicated by periodontitis.

What can't be used?

Many begin to experiment with a variety of remedies in an attempt to relieve pain. So what not to do:

If the gums under the crown are inflamed, do not apply a heating pad. When heated, microorganisms multiply much faster and you may lose your tooth.
Don't delay treatment. The longer you endure the pain, hoping that it will go away on its own, the more difficult it will be to cope with the developing disease.

You can order dental structures from a variety of materials, and the cost of metal-ceramic crowns is quite low. The main thing is to properly and promptly care for such products, monitor changes occurring in the oral cavity and promptly visit the dentist if your gums become inflamed.

Why is the enamel grinding procedure carried out?

Grinding of teeth involves removing a layer of hard tissue (enamel and dentin), so that the orthopedic structure subsequently installed on the “support” looks natural and beautiful, fits tightly, is securely fixed, has stability and strength. This is also done to ensure that microbes do not get under the prosthesis or food debris gets clogged, which together can provoke the development of an inflammatory process.

On a note! Typically, the doctor removes a layer equal to the thickness of the chosen prosthesis. If a crown or bridge is installed, the tooth is ground down to a cone shape. When turning for microprostheses, for example, for veneers, the specialist “cuts down” the enamel in the frontal, lateral and cervical areas.

Often after the procedure, the patient’s gums around the ground tooth hurt, or the prepared element itself ache. Naturally, discomfort does not arise immediately, but after the anesthesia wears off. For some people, discomfort does not appear until several days, weeks or even months later. What is this connected with? We'll figure it out together.

What measures to take at home

When your teeth and gums hurt after grinding, it is important to know what to do in this situation. Usually, to quickly eliminate the physiological reaction of tissues to intervention, doctors advise performing the following procedures:

mouth rinse: you can use chlorhexidine solution, Rokotan. Decoctions of chamomile and sage, which have a calming, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effect, are also suitable. Rinsing is carried out 2-3 times a day,

applications: if the gums hurt, it is recommended to apply Solcoseryl ointment to it up to 3-5 times a day,
taking painkillers from a home medicine cabinet,
following a gentle diet: in order not to further irritate sensitive tissues, it is necessary to exclude solid, cold and hot foods from the diet. It is better to also give up sour, salty, spicy and sweet foods for a while,
Carrying out oral hygiene as carefully as possible: if your gums and sharpened teeth hurt, then under no circumstances should you stop performing hygiene procedures. However, to minimize discomfort, you can temporarily switch to a brush with soft bristles and a paste with anti-inflammatory components (chamomile, propolis).

What can you use?

To cope with pain, you can use different means.

Use soda (1 half teaspoon) diluted in warm water (1 glass), it is advisable to add a couple of drops of an alcohol solution of iodine. Rinse your mouth every twenty minutes until the pain subsides completely.
If the gums under the crown are inflamed, take a pain reliever with an anti-inflammatory effect.
In the pharmacy you can find special gels, for example, Metrogyl Denta. They will not allow germs to multiply, and the cooling effect will relieve pain.

Clinical researches

All ASEPTA products are clinically proven effective.

Repeated clinical studies have proven that the two-component mouth rinse ASEPTA ACTIVE more effectively combats the causes of inflammation and bleeding compared to single-component rinses - it reduces inflammation by 41% and reduces bleeding gums by 43%.
It has also been clinically proven that regular use of preventive toothpaste ASEPTA ACTIVE for a month can reduce bleeding gums by 60%, improve overall oral health by 44% and reduce inflammation by 33%.
Laboratory studies have proven that using ASEPTA adhesive gum balm for a week can reduce gum bleeding by 51% and reduce inflammation by 50%.

Sources:

The role of anti-inflammatory rinse in the treatment of periodontal diseases (L.Yu. Orekhova, A.A. Leontyev, S.B. Ulitovsky) L.Yu. OREKHOVA, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Prof., Head of Department; A.A. LEONTIEV, dentist; S.B. ULITOVSKY, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Prof. Department of Therapeutic Dentistry of St. Petersburg State Medical University named after. acad. I. P. Pavlova
Clinical and laboratory assessment of the influence of domestic therapeutic and prophylactic toothpaste based on plant extracts on the condition of the oral cavity in patients with simple marginal gingivitis. Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Elovikova T.M.1, Candidate of Chemical Sciences, Associate Professor Ermishina E.Yu. 2, Doctor of Technical Sciences Associate Professor Belokonova N.A. 2 Department of Therapeutic Dentistry USMU1, Department of General Chemistry USMU2
The use of adhesive balm "Asepta®" in the treatment of inflammatory periodontal diseases L.Yu. OREKHOVA*, Dr. med. Sciences, Professor, Head of Department V.V. CHPP**, Dr. med. Sciences, Professor, Head of Department S.B. ULITOVSKY*, Dr. med. Sciences, Professor A.A. LEONTIEV*, dentist A.A. DOMORAD**, O.M. YAKOVLEV** SPbSMU named after. acad. I.P. Pavlova, St. Petersburg - *Department of Therapeutic Dentistry, **Department of Microbiology

How long does the discomfort last?

Many patients are interested in how long their teeth can hurt after grinding. Normally, the unpleasant sensations disappear after 3-7 days. This is the case if the preparation was carried out without removing the nerve, or immediately after depulpation.

According to many experts, long-depulped teeth that have been ground should not hurt at all. If discomfort occurs, it goes away after 1-2 days.

When tissues and nerves are overheated with boron, increased sensitivity can persist for several months. But in any case, pain that intensifies and does not go away for more than one week should be a reason for a visit to the dentist.