Sensitivity after a crown: how long is normal, when is it not

How long it lasts, and why it happens at all

Two to four weeks is the normal window, and the reason is anatomical: preparing a tooth for a crown cuts through enamel into dentine, and dentine is not solid but crossed by microscopic tubules filled with fluid that run towards the nerve. Cold, air and sweetness move that fluid, and the nerve reads the movement as a short, sharp signal. The pulp also reacts to the heat and vibration of preparation with mild, reversible inflammation. Both effects fade as the tubules seal and the inflammation resolves, which is why the sensitivity is temporary rather than permanent.

The three causes that will not settle by themselves

First, a high bite: a crown even a fraction of a millimetre proud concentrates every clench on one tooth, producing pressure pain rather than cold pain. It is corrected in ten minutes with articulating paper. Second, an open or leaking margin, letting fluid reach dentine directly. Third, a pulp already damaged by deep decay or an old filling that has now tipped from reversible to irreversible inflammation, which shows itself as throbbing at night.

What we do about each of them

A high bite is adjusted and polished at no charge, and we would rather you flag it in the first days than tolerate it for a month. A leaking margin means the crown is remade. A pulp that has died needs root canal treatment, done through a small access hole in the zirconium crown which is then sealed, so the crown itself does not have to be sacrificed. Sensitivity that increases rather than decreases after week two is the pattern to report.

Managing the normal kind at home

Use a potassium nitrate desensitising toothpaste, applied with a fingertip on the neck of the tooth at night and not rinsed off, for three to four weeks. Avoid very cold drinks on that side for the first week and do not chew ice. If you grind at night, a guard protects the ceramic and reduces load on an already irritated pulp. Patients who have flown home can send photographs and reach the clinical team on WhatsApp at +905402555055.

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