To protect your tooth/teeth while waiting for the crown to return from the lab, a temporary crown(s) has been placed.  This temporary crown is made of plastic and is held on with temporary cement.  By design, the temporary cement is weak to facilitate the removal of the temporary crown.  
It is important that the temporary crown(s) stay on the prepared tooth, to protect the tooth.  The temporary crown protects the tooth, maintains the position of the teeth, and facilitates chewing.  If the temporary tooth falls off, your tooth may be quite sensitive and the teeth can shift position.  If the teeth shift position, seating the finished crown(s) can be difficult and in some cases impossible.
If your temporary crown falls off, try to place it back on your tooth with the take home temporary cement provided.  Please bring this cement back if you do not use it.  If you cannot get the temporary crown back on, you must call the office at 907-336-8478 (907- DENTIST ) to have the crown put back on.  The temporary crown has to be put back on within 24 hours, so if you need to, have me paged on the weekend. 
If you swallow the temporary crown, it can get stuck in the intestines with serious health risk. You must evaluate your stool to make sure it passes; we will provide you with a box of gloves if this happens.  You need to call the office immediately during normal business hours.  
To make sure the crown stays on please follow the following instructions:
o	Do not floss the tooth/teeth with the temporary crown.
o	Do not eat sticky foods such as gummy bears, gum, taffy, etc.
o	Do not eat crunchy foods such as popcorn kernels, peanut brittle, etc.
o	Do not eat bread that is hard and crunchy
o	Do not drink hot beverages the first 24 hours (yes, that does mean coffee)
o	Do not chew ice…ever !!!

*DO rinse with Listerine or Crest Pro Health mouth rinse for 30 seconds twice daily
A good rule of thumb is not to eat foods harder than ground beef or chicken while you have a temporary crown on.
Don’t forget, if your temporary crown falls off and you can’t get it back on, please call to have it put back on.  By the way, don’t throw the crown away if you think it is broken.  Bring the pieces to the office with you and we’ll throw them away if they can’t be used again.