“How long will a temporary dental crown last?”

Depending on how paralled the tooth was cut under it, and what cement was used, and how you care for it, they should be able to last you at least a month, but sometimes people have them in for a year or 2. The less you chew on it, and the better it’s made, the longer it will last. Do not eat anything hard or sticky and it will last longer, provided that the temporary has a strong cement (which can be tricky, because you don’t’ want the cement to be so strong you can’t take the temporary crown off), and the tooth was not overcut into a conical shape. Temporary crowns are not as strong as permanent ones, so they can break if you chew hard things. This doesn’t mean you can chew hard things on the other side. Hard food moves around in your mouth. You can’t pour liquid into one side of a cup.

Sincerely,
Max C. Lai, DMD

It might fall out in a week or stay on for years, but it will begin to leak and the tooth will decay after a few weeks or months. The tooth also can shift after 2 weeks, and the crown might not fit, or it might be damaged after adjusting the crown for the “shift”.

If your temporary crown is put on with temporary cement, count on no more than 2-3 months of crown life. Sometimes we will temporize a questionable tooth and use permanent cement to see how the tooth will react over a longer time before committing to a more costly permanent crown.

Temporary crown life also depends on what and how you eat. If you chew hard on it, it can break. If you eat sticky foods on it, it can come off the tooth.

There's a reason why it's called a "temporary".

Dr. Conrad

Not meant to be on for very long, usually just need a couple of weeks to make the permanent crn. But the temp can last for quite a while

I once had a Merchant Marine Patient who came for a crown. I placed a temporary crown and we made an appointment in 2 weeks for the final crown. His ship called him before his crown was ready and I didn’t see him for 1.5 years. He sent me a postcard from Antarctica! When he finally returned to the office, he still had his temporary crown in place, though it was worn through to the tooth. So temp crowns can last weeks or years, as it varies greatly. It is safer to replace it within a month or two if possible.

There are many factors such as what material is used to make it? What type of cement was used?



More importantly is that you want to get the final crown ASAP so the margins and the surrounding teeth don’t change. While a temporary may last for months……it should be replaced as soon as you can, so the preparation site changes as little as possible.