My crown feels high after fitting: is that normal?

When a crown is cemented, your mouth is often numb, so you cannot feel exactly where the teeth meet. You may only notice that evening or the next day that the new tooth hits first. Do not ignore it: an early contact concentrates all chewing force on one tooth, causing pain on biting, cold sensitivity and sometimes inflammation of the ligament around the root. Over time the porcelain may chip or the nerve may be affected.

At Celebrity Smile Center in Duhok, Dr. Khalid Saeed tries the crown in before cementing, then checks the bite with articulating paper and asks you to bite and slide your jaw left, right and forward, because some contacts only appear in movement. If you grind, a night guard is discussed. You are asked to tell the clinic straight away if the crown feels high, as written in the aftercare for crowns and bridges.

The adjustment usually takes minutes: the high spot is marked, gently reduced and re-polished so the surface is not rough. Sometimes the problem is not height but an inflamed nerve or a deep filling under the crown, so if pain continues after adjustment, an X-ray is taken. In cases with many crowns or full-mouth rehabilitation, the bite is planned before starting and built up gradually.

If you travelled home before noticing the problem, contact the clinic on WhatsApp; a local dentist may be able to make a small adjustment in coordination. Read about follow-up after returning home. Crowns made precisely at Creative Art Dental Lab in Dubai also reduce the need for adjustments.

• Odd feeling for a few hours: common
• Crown hitting first after two days: needs adjusting
• Adjustment is usually a few minutes of polishing
• Pain persisting after adjustment: X-ray the nerve