A temporary crown is a short-term protective cap placed over a prepared tooth while a dental lab fabricates your permanent crown. It typically stays in place for 2 to 3 weeks, though implant cases can require several months. Think of it as a placeholder: it shields the exposed tooth, keeps neighboring teeth from shifting, and lets you chew and smile normally during the wait.
Why You Need One
Before a permanent crown can be placed, your dentist files down the natural tooth to create a smaller peg-shaped structure. That reshaped tooth is vulnerable. The outer protective enamel has been removed, and the softer inner layer is now exposed to bacteria, temperature changes, and the pressure of chewing. A temporary crown seals over this preparation to prevent infection and sensitivity.
It also serves a structural purpose. Teeth naturally drift toward open space. Without a temporary crown holding the correct position, adjacent teeth can shift just enough that your permanent crown no longer fits when it arrives from the lab. The temporary also maintains your bite alignment and supports normal gum contour around the tooth, so the permanent crown seats cleanly against healthy tissue.
What It’s Made Of
Most temporary crowns are made from acrylic or composite resin. These materials are easy to shape in the dental office and look reasonably close to a natural tooth. Acrylic crowns come in several chemical variations. Older formulations tend to be more brittle and wear down faster, while newer resin-based versions are tougher and hold their color better.
In some cases, dentists use preformed crown shells instead of building one from scratch. Polycarbonate shells are common for front teeth because they have good impact resistance and a tooth-like appearance. Aluminum shells have been used for decades on back teeth because the metal is soft enough to bend and trim into the right shape chairside. Stainless steel crowns are the go-to for children’s baby teeth, since they resist deformation under heavy chewing forces and hold up well until the tooth falls out naturally.
For longer waiting periods or more complex cases, a lab can fabricate a higher-quality temporary. These indirect temporaries offer a better fit at the margins, stronger wear resistance, and more natural aesthetics than the ones made in the chair.
How It’s Attached
Temporary crowns are cemented with a deliberately weak adhesive. This is by design. The cement needs to hold firmly enough that you can eat and talk without the crown popping off, but loosely enough that your dentist can pry it off without damaging the tooth underneath when the permanent crown is ready. Temporary cements are also more soluble than permanent ones, meaning they gradually break down over time. That’s fine for a few weeks of service, but it’s one reason you shouldn’t delay your follow-up appointment.
What to Expect Afterward
Some sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures is normal in the first day or two after placement. The tooth underneath has been reshaped, and the temporary crown doesn’t insulate as well as a permanent one. This mild discomfort usually fades on its own. If pain gets significantly worse, feels sharp when you bite down, or doesn’t improve after a few days, that’s worth a call to your dentist, as it could signal an issue with the fit or the nerve inside the tooth.
The crown itself may feel slightly different from your natural tooth. Temporary crowns aren’t precision-milled the way permanent ones are, so the bite might feel a touch off or the texture a bit rougher. Most people adjust within a day.
Foods and Habits to Avoid
The weak cement that makes removal easy also makes the crown vulnerable to everyday forces. Sticky foods are the biggest culprit: caramel, taffy, and gummy candy can grab the crown and pull it right off. Hard foods like nuts, ice, raw carrots, and whole apples can crack the material or break the seal. Even popcorn, granola, and raisins are worth avoiding, since small particles can wedge under the crown’s edges.
Try to chew on the opposite side of your mouth when possible. If your temporary is on a front tooth, cut food into small pieces rather than biting directly into anything firm. Flossing around the temporary is fine, but pull the floss out sideways rather than snapping it up through the contact point, which can lift the crown.
What to Do If It Falls Off
A loose or dislodged temporary crown is not a dental emergency, but you shouldn’t leave the tooth exposed for long. If it happens during office hours, call your dentist to have it re-cemented the same day.
If it comes off on a weekend or evening, you have a reliable DIY option. Pick up a product called Dentemp (or a similar temporary dental cement) from the toothpaste aisle of any pharmacy. Gently clean out the old cement from inside the crown with a toothbrush, dry the tooth, apply a small amount of the temporary material inside the crown, and press it firmly back into place. This will hold until you can get to the office.
One exception: if your temporary crown was placed after a root canal, there’s no living nerve inside the tooth, so you won’t feel pain from exposure. You can leave the crown off over the weekend and call Monday morning for a re-cementation appointment if you prefer not to deal with the pharmacy fix.
How Long You’ll Wear It
For a standard crown on a natural tooth, the typical wait is 2 to 3 weeks while the permanent crown is manufactured. Same-day milling technology (CEREC) can sometimes eliminate the temporary altogether, but most offices still send impressions to an outside lab.
Implant-supported crowns involve a longer timeline. The implant post needs to fuse with the jawbone before it can support a permanent crown, a healing process that can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months depending on bone quality and the implant location. During that period, a temporary crown protects the site and gives you something functional to chew with.
Whatever the timeline, keeping your scheduled follow-up is important. Temporary cements and materials aren’t built for long-term use. The longer a temporary stays in place beyond its intended window, the greater the risk of cement washout, bacterial leakage, or the crown cracking under daily wear.