What Causes a Gold Crown to Fall Off? (ft. Storage Method)

Hello.

This is E-Pyeonhansesang Dental Clinic.

If a gold crown that you normally use without any issues suddenly falls off, you may feel alarmed.

Many people choose gold crowns because they are strong and last a long time.

So after receiving treatment with a gold crown, people often think they can use it for a long time without any particular problems.

However, for various reasons, gold crowns can fall off, and quite a number of people come to the clinic for this reason.

When a gold crown falls off, what matters most is proper handling and visiting the clinic quickly.

If you miss the right time, treatment can become more complicated.

So today, let’s take a detailed look at the causes of a gold crown falling off and how to respond appropriately.

My gold crown fell off!

What is the cause?

Gold crown falling off, gold crown coming loose

First, let’s briefly learn about gold crowns.

What we commonly call a gold crown refers to a prosthetic restoration placed over a tooth to protect it after root canal treatment or cavity treatment.

In general, a gold crown is often called a gold crown.

Because of the word “gold crown,” many people mistakenly think it is made of pure gold, but pure gold is unsuitable for use in teeth because of its low strength. A gold crown is not 100% pure gold; it is made from various alloys containing gold.

When made using an alloy like this, it has strong durability and good biocompatibility, so it changes little even after long-term use.

The problem is that after gold crown treatment, the restoration can sometimes come loose.

There are several causes of a gold crown becoming loose. Let’s look at them one by one.

① Tooth decay and fracture or cracks

If a gold crown falls off, one of the first possible causes to suspect is tooth decay or fracture of the gold crown.

A gold crown is a restoration that covers the entire tooth.

Even if it looks fine to the eye, decay or cracks can develop underneath.

If decay occurs, the bonded tooth surface may break down, or gaps may form, causing the gold crown to come off.

The same is true when a tooth with a gold crown develops cracks.

Due to strong biting force or teeth grinding, the root or post of the tooth may fracture, weakening the tooth supporting the gold crown and causing the crown to come off.

② Weakened bonding strength

The second cause is when weakened adhesion leads to a gold crown falling off.

When a gold crown is placed on a tooth, adhesive is used to increase retention.

Dental adhesive naturally weakens over time, and saliva or foreign substances can get into the gap between the tooth and the gold crown, which can also weaken the bond.

At that point, the gold crown may come off.

In particular, older restorations often have reduced bonding strength, so regular maintenance is necessary.

③ Improper treatment

The last cause to look at is detachment due to a treatment result with low precision.

When placing a gold crown, a portion of the tooth that will receive the crown needs to be reduced.

At this stage, the amount of reduction should be appropriate, taking into account the angle and height of the bonding surface.

If this is not done properly, the tooth may end up too low or too high, which weakens the bonding strength.

Such structural causes can weaken the bond even more over time and become a cause of a gold crown falling off.

Also, if treatment is done incorrectly, the bite can become awkward. In that case, the bite becomes unbalanced, so force is concentrated too much on one side, causing the gold crown to wobble or move.

If this situation repeats, the gold crown may eventually come off.

In addition, if the restoration is not manufactured precisely, the border between the tooth and the restoration can open up, causing it to wobble.

What should you do if a gold crown falls off?

Response and storage method

If a gold crown falls off for any of these reasons, what should you do?

When a gold crown falls off, what matters most is how the crown is stored.

Poor storage can often lead to contamination or dents in the gold crown.

First, we recommend wrapping the gold crown in clean tissue or gauze and storing it in a small container that is not hard.

Just as important as storage is not losing it.

Sometimes, if a gold crown comes off while chewing, people may accidentally swallow it.

Also, because it is small, people may lose it after putting it in a pocket or bag.

Therefore, if it feels like your gold crown came off while eating, you should spit out the food and be careful not to swallow the crown, and you should store it safely so it is not lost.

After that, you should visit a dental clinic as soon as possible.

There are cases where people leave it untreated because they do not have major symptoms or problems after the crown falls off.

If that happens, the tooth is exposed without the restoration, which can lead to decay or inflammation and is dangerous.

Therefore, it is best to visit the dentist as quickly as possible and receive treatment.

Gold crowns are known to be durable, but that does not mean they can be used permanently.

Because a gold crown can fall off for the various reasons discussed today,

it is important to regularly check through oral examinations whether the bond has weakened and whether decay has developed.

Thank you for reading this long post with me today.

This was E-Pyeonhansesang Dental Clinic.