A crown is a type of denture that is used to restore lost and damaged teeth. And if prosthetics with crowns was carried out correctly and the person follows all the doctor’s recommendations after treatment, dental crowns serve their owner flawlessly for many years without requiring replacement. However, sometimes a problem may arise such as odor coming from under the crown. Why does it occur, what can the smell from under the crown indicate, and what to do if you encounter such a problem? We will tell you about this in detail below.
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Unpleasant odor from under the crown: an overview of possible causes
Why might an unpleasant, putrid odor appear from under the crown? This question worries all people who are faced with this problem, so in this section we will look in detail at all the possible causes of odor under the crown. Among them:
- Low quality prosthesis. If the crown is not made accurately, it will not fit tightly to the natural tissues of the tooth; there will be a gap between it and the tooth, into which food debris can become clogged. It is impossible to clean them with a regular brush; over time, these residues will rot and, as a result, an extremely unpleasant odor will appear;
- Mistakes made by the doctor during the installation process can also lead to the appearance of odor from under the crown. The consequence of these mistakes is the gradual loosening of the dental crown, its depressurization and the entry of saliva, food debris and bacteria under the crown;
- Incorrect installation of a metal-ceramic crown and its low sealing density can lead to air getting under the prosthesis and its contact with the metal base of the crown. Such contact is fraught with the formation of oxides that are harmful to tooth tissue. The tooth under the crown will gradually begin to decay and rot, and a sign of this process will be the appearance of an unpleasant odor from under the crown.
Let us also note the fact that some inexperienced and sometimes simply illiterate doctors can put a crown on an untreated tooth or a tooth that, according to all indications, needs to be removed. Naturally, this approach to prosthetics entails the most negative consequences for the patient. An odor may appear from under the crown, and active inflammation may occur.
As you can see, most often there is a smell from under the crown due to the poor quality of the prosthetics. And for this reason, you should always carefully choose the clinic where you plan to have your teeth treated!
Principle of installation of the prosthesis
In recent years, dental orthopedics has been actively introducing new materials.
Fragile plastic has been replaced by aesthetic porcelain and ultra-durable zirconium. But the general installation technology remains the same. The basis for prosthetics is always a dilapidated tooth that cannot be restored with a filling. After careful grinding, a pre-made overlay is put on it. If several teeth have been lost, the dentist suggests installing a special prosthesis consisting of several crowns. It is also fixed on the remaining “stumps” or secured with the smallest locks. They are pressed as tightly as possible to the gum, protecting it from the ingress of food debris. But even the highest quality construction has a limited service life and requires periodic examination by a dentist.
Tooth decay under the crown is one of the main causes of unpleasant odor
As we indicated above, most often the appearance of an unpleasant odor under the crown indicates that the tooth under the installed prosthesis is being destroyed. Why is this happening? There are a number of reasons why a treated tooth may begin to decay under the crown:
1. The tooth with a crown installed did not need to be replaced, but removed. Some teeth, unfortunately, cannot be restored either by treatment or prosthetics. For example, with advanced pulpitis or periodontitis. If the tooth is too weakened, conservative treatment may not help, and the crown installed on it will not last long. An inflammatory process will occur under it, the beginning of which may be indicated by the appearance of an unpleasant odor under the crown.
2. The long service life of dental crowns is ensured not only by high-quality prosthetics, but also by the patient’s compliance with all recommendations for crown care and oral hygiene. If hygiene is not thorough or insufficient, the tooth under the crown may become sick.
3. Before installing the crowns, the teeth are prepared and until the prosthesis is ready and installed, they will be very vulnerable to the action of bacteria. If the tooth is not protected with a prosthesis while the crown is being made, bacteria can easily begin to destroy the weakened tooth, which can cause caries and, consequently, an unpleasant odor already under the crown.
In any case, it is not worth engaging in self-diagnosis and self-medication if an odor appears under the crown. You need to urgently consult a doctor, because the exact cause of the smell from under the crown can only be determined through professional diagnostics, and treatment can only be carried out after removing the crown from the tooth.
Preventive measures
On the part of the doctor, the problem must be eliminated in advance by thoroughly treating the tooth before installing the prosthesis, correctly installing the pin, making a crown that matches all the individual characteristics of the patient’s bite, and firmly cementing it. It is also important that the volume of the tooth is sufficient for installation of the orthopedic structure.
The patient requires careful and regular hygiene of his own and artificial teeth. Since the appearance of crowns, your arsenal should include an anti-plaque paste, a rinse aid, several different brushes (for example, in addition to a traditional brush, you can purchase a multi-tuft brush and a brush) for cleaning teeth and hard-to-reach places, an irrigator and floss. In addition, do not forget to periodically visit your dentist for preventive examinations.
When should a visit to the dentist be urgent?
In fact, the appearance of a putrid odor from under the crown is already a reason to immediately consult a dentist. You should not delay a visit to the doctor’s office in the following circumstances:
- You feel that the crown is loose or that food remains are getting under it;
- The dark color of the tooth shows through under the denture. Teeth turn black when caries appears and decays;
- The tooth under the crown hurt.
The teeth under the crown may hurt if the nerve was not removed before prosthetics. But the absence of pain in the presence of other symptoms is not a reason to delay a visit to the doctor. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to receive treatment that can save the tooth. If you contact us late, the tooth will have to be removed and then it can only be restored by installing implants.
Tooth canal treatment with a microscope
Dentist-endodontist T.I. Matienko removed the old filling, removed the pin and washed the tooth canals. Cleaning of the canals is carried out under a microscope, using special endodontic instruments that penetrate into the narrowest parts of the canals. The tooth canal is washed with antimicrobial agents, and then medicine is placed into the canal to completely destroy the bacteria. The tooth is closed with a temporary filling for 14 days.
During the second visit to the endodontist, the filling was removed, the canal was again washed and dried, and then sealed with gutta-percha along its entire length. Since the tooth on top was badly damaged, a fiberglass pin was installed in it to strengthen it, and then the cavity in the tooth was closed with a light-rejecting filling made from the most modern Estelite material.
A filling is only an intermediate stage in tooth restoration. Next, an orthopedic dentist worked with the patient.
Is there any way I can get rid of the smell from under the crown on my own?
Unfortunately, no independent measures will help you completely remove the unpleasant odor from under the crown. For this smell to disappear, the crown must be removed and the tooth treated. At home and while waiting for an appointment with the dentist, you can only slightly reduce the intensity of the odor - for this you need to frequently rinse your mouth with decoctions of medicinal herbs. The ideal choice would be chamomile and sage decoctions, which remove odors well and have a slight antiseptic effect.
Smell from under the crown: what will the doctor do to solve the problem?
The scheme for eliminating odor from under a crown in a clinical setting will largely depend on the cause that led to the problem:
1. If the diagnosis reveals a loose fit of the crown to the tooth stump, then the following actions will help remove the smell: removing the dental crown, high-quality cleaning of the tooth surface, installing a new and anatomically accurate denture.
2. If the smell appears because the crown is not tightly fixed to the stump and is loose, then it will need to be removed and replaced with a new prosthesis. To avoid a repetition of such an unpleasant situation in the future, pay attention to the choice of the clinic and the doctor who will perform prosthetics.
USEFUL TO KNOW: If the smell from under the crown or pain in the tooth after prosthetics appeared due to medical errors, the clinic must re-treat and replace the teeth under warranty. Prosthetics and dental implantation are expensive services, so you need to apply for them to those dentists who provide their patients with guarantees for treatment and, in general, value their reputation.
It is also worth considering the fact that the smell from under the crown and other complications after dental prosthetics may be the reason for your ignoring the doctor’s recommendations, which are necessarily given to each patient at the final stage of treatment.
What complications can occur if you do not see a doctor on time?
The smell from under the crown is always a good reason to urgently consult a doctor. If you delay visiting the dentist, the following complications may develop:
- Tooth cyst. This pathology is characterized by the formation of bags of pus in the root part of the tooth and it is not always possible to successfully treat it and save the tooth. Even therapeutic treatment of a cyst will be a complex and lengthy process that can last for several months!
- A loose fit of the crown to the tooth tissue can cause not only an unpleasant odor, but also the formation of flux, the treatment of which requires antibiotics;
- Failure to eliminate odor from under the crown in a timely manner may ultimately result in pulpitis and periodontitis. Both of these diseases are serious complications of caries and it is not always possible to save a tooth with their treatment!
If you are concerned about the smell from under the crown and would like to receive detailed professional advice on this problem, just call our Vanstom dentistry in Moscow!
Calculate the cost of treatment by taking a short test in 20 seconds!
Do not delay your treatment, because in this matter time plays against us.
What if there is no smell in the mouth after dentures, but there is a strange taste?
If after installing a crown there is no odor in your mouth, but you constantly feel an incomprehensible and irritating taste, you also need to consult a dentist. This phenomenon may indicate both improper fixation of the crown on the tooth, as a result of which the cementing composition is washed away by saliva and causes an unpleasant taste, as well as possible incompatibility of the materials used in the manufacture of the prosthesis.
Another possible cause of a strange taste in the mouth is an allergic reaction.
Here we can only advise one thing - do not try to diagnose yourself, do not follow dubious advice from the Internet, but turn to specialists. Self-medication can lead to negative consequences for your health, the elimination of which requires significant time and large financial expenses. It is better to immediately consult a doctor and get qualified medical care!
And finally: most often complications after the installation of crowns are observed in the case of poor-quality prosthetics. Therefore, do not chase low prices for crowns and their installation - choose a clinic based on the criteria of equipment, staff competence, and the doctor’s ability to work with modern materials and technologies.
Still have questions about the topic of the article? Write to us via chat or dial the contact phone number of our clinic “VENSTOM”!
Factor No. 5: internal diseases of the body
Sometimes patients feel that their breath stinks because of the crowns. However, in fact, the source of the problem may be related to malfunctions in the internal organs. In this case, the breath really smells, but quite often the culprit is diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and metabolic disorders, diabetes mellitus. Internal diseases of the body are often accompanied by an unpleasant taste of metal or iodine.
How to proceed in this case? We would recommend first visiting a dentist, performing professional oral hygiene and eliminating existing problems. And if an unpleasant symptom continues to bother you, then it makes sense to go to a therapist who will issue a referral for an ultrasound and other types of comprehensive examination of the body.
