Coming home from your dentist with new crowns can be a unique experience. This is especially true if you had your front teeth crowned. You may have a hard time not looking into the mirror and smiling at yourself. However, no matter what tooth you had crowned, feeling a harsh pain after the numbness wears off is not normal. Learn more about the normal kinds of pain associated with healing you can expect with new tooth crowns.

Tender Gums Are Normal During Healing

The gum tissue around the tooth you had a crown put on may be extremely sore to the touch when the numbing effect of anesthetic injections wears off. Your gums can tender for a number of reasons, most of them being a normal part of the dental procedure for putting crowns on:

• Injection site soreness: The place that was stuck with a needle for numbing your gums can be sore for a couple of days after your procedure. To remedy this soreness, avoid eating hard foods or foods that are too hot or too cold.
• Soreness from gum contouring: Your dentist may have trimmed some gum tissue for properly fitting your crown. The pain caused by gum contouring might feel like your mouth would feel if you ate food that was too hot. However, gum pain from contouring will go away after a few days.
• Impression pain: The material used to make the impression of your gums before crowns are put on can cause your gums and teeth to be sore. The pain caused by impression material will also go away within a few days.

Crown Pain That Warrants A Trip Back To Your Dentist

If you experience extreme pain in the area of your new crown that wakes you up at night, it is a good idea to go back to your dentist to learn its cause. In some cases, nerve damage can occur during dental procedures that may involve the removal of gum tissue affected by tooth decay. In some cases, cement can dry hard and have a sharp point that cuts into your jaw, causing pain as well. Visiting your dentist to have the cement removed will stop the pain.

Once your crowns are settled in and your gums are healed, you will most likely be glad you had them put on. If your teeth are decayed and painful, knowing you can bite down without pain or being woken up night after night with toothache pain is a wonderful feeling. Crowns can be the best way to get back the smile that is not going to hurt a lot of the time.

For professional dental work, contact a dentist such as Webster John B DDS.