What to do if you lose a crown and you’re nowhere near a dentist? Should you use Super Glue or Krazy Glue to put it back? The quick answer is no. While these permanent glues can be used to suture up wounds in an outback emergency, they are not designed for fixing dental work. Let our Placerville dentists explain why.
Why Not Glue My Crown?
You may think we’re just trying to make more money by asking you to come in to the dental office to fix your crown, but that’s not the point. As we mentioned, these glues are permanent! Crowns are designed to stay on tight, but to be removable in a dental chair. Occasionally, they are dislodged by the patient, but only after many years of use. Fix a crown with permanent glue, however, and now the only way to remove it is by grinding it away or breaking the tooth.
Why might you need to remove a crown? It’s not uncommon for decay to work it’s way up from the roots, not down from the crown. If your crown is essentially unremovable and you face root decay, the pain will be extreme and your dentist will have an extremely difficult time fixing it. It may even lead to the loss of the tooth. Another problem lies with the fit you create when you replace the crown. If you misalign it, a lot of effort will be required to fix it.
How Can I Fix a Broken Crown?
The best fix is to come to the Placerville Dental Group for emergency dentistry. If you’re really out of the way, denture adhesive can help hold the crown in place if you don’t use that side of your mouth for chewing. Carrying a small dental first aid kit, with items purchased from the drugstore for temporary use, can be a useful practice. In a future article we’ll talk about things to include in such a kit.
Are Glues Good For Anything?
One use for Super Glue or Krazy Glue as a first aid dental item is for fixing a broken denture. If you’re away from the dentist and not likely to see one soon, but still want to chew with teeth, you can repair a denture with these glues. Just make sure you practice putting the broken pieces together before applying the adhesive. The denture likely wont fit like it did before and will require at a minimum professional repair and at the worst complete replacement. In either case, come see one of our Placerville dentists as soon as possible. So yes, permanent adhesives are good for something, but it’s not replacing crowns!
I used nail super glue to place a crown back on. It is tight on my gums but I’m worried about doing it now
Superglue, or nail glue can work in a pinch. Realize these glues are temporary and not designed for the oral environment. Crowns can come off for a few reasons. One reason is trauma. The right force can dislodge a crown leaving the tooth underneath unaffected. If this is the case, we can simply re-cement the crown with FDA approved cement designed to withstand the oral environment. This is an inexpensive fix.
Other reasons may not be as simple. If tooth decay is under the crown, this undermines the foundation for the crown. If this is the situation, repairing the decay before it spreads is essential to save additional costs and efforts to repair.
We often hear the phrase, “It doesn’t bother me…” Remember, problems are best addressed early before it gets painful. Whether it be us or some other dental professional, we invite you to get it checked out.
I have two ceramics one of which in the past four weeks has come off my tooth having attended my dentist on these occasions. What adhesive can I use to permanently secure this ceramic.
Sincerely
Edward Manderson
Hello. It sounds like despite going to your dentist, your crown keeps coming off. I can’t imagine your dentist using a non-FDA-approved product for cementing ceramic crowns or veneers. Without seeing it first hand, my initial thought is the preparation does not have enough retention and resistance engineered in the design. Cement is not the primary way we hold restorations, rather, the restoration itself should fit so well, it stays in without cement. Ideally, cement merely lutes the restoration in place sealing it to prevent bacterial invasion. Feel free to do an online virtual consult for free where you can submit photos, or schedule a consult. Thank you!
Help !! I’ve just broke my bridge that I only had fitted 6 weeks ago , I have a set of 10 on one bridge top front and the two left hand sided teeth have broken off ,while I was eating I can I super glue it or do I need to have the whole bridge replaced ?
I live in England and went to Turkey to have it done . They did a fantastic job but I’ve just broke it biting on a chew , surely this shouldn’t have happened ? Can I get it fixed without having to go back to Turkey and what glue will fix it back together ?
I’m devastated:((
By the way It’ is porcelain bridge .
Super glue is a good option if you can’t see a dentist and you are looking for a quick fix to get you through the next week or two until you can see a dentist. The questions to ask are what caused the break and if repaired what will prevent it from breaking again? Without evaluating the cause of the break including your bite, I’d say, the superglue is a quick or temporary fix. Good luck to you and don’t forget to enjoy the baklava in Turkey!
My UL4 crown fell out months ago and dentist stuck it back. It lasted 10 days. Another dentist stuck it back again and it lasted 10 weeks. But nobody will stick it back again as the pulp is mushy and there is only a tiny bit of tooth for crown to adhere to. My options are an implant or false tooth. I dread a needle in the gum so I’m unable to have treatment. I’ve tried all the cement preparations from Amazon and all failed. Now my last hope is superglue. Will this be ok do you think? I love my teeth and need to smile but am terrified of dentists. Please help.
Hi Jean. You’re not alone, many dread the needle and the trip to the dentist.
Based on your history, the tooth is non restorable due to decay and a lack of structure for the crown to mechanically adhere to. You may try superglue and it probably won’t last.
I wish I could waive a magic wand and make it new. However in order to make an omelet, eggs must be cracked. I’m sure you no doubt know, you require dentistry for a definitive solution. If I may, I suggest you consider sedation dentistry. This modern marvel allows dental work to be completed in a safe and comfortable way taking away the stress and pain. This is a miracle for our patients who are stressed and anxious about their dental treatment. Best to you!
can I use super glue to put my crown back in I don’t have a dentist at the minute and it’s my front tooth
Hello! I’m sorry to hear your in this predicament. Most dental offices can recement a loose crown for a modest fee. Our office charges around $100 for this. This is the ideal option. That being said, over the counter super glue is better than nothing. Clean and dry the crown before applying the glue. When you install the crown seat the crown firmly. Excess glue can be wiped away.