Is a Crown Making Your Breath Smell Bad?
Posted on: 30 August 2018
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You'll be used to having bad breath occasionally if you eat something pungent; however, this kind of smell typically goes away quickly. If a bad smell keeps popping up in your mouth for no reason, then you'll be trying to work out why. If you have a dental crown, then this might be the root of your problem. How can you tell?
Smell Test the Crown
If you suspect that your crown is making your mouth smell nasty, then try one or more of the following smell tests:
- Rub your finger along the gum where it meets the crown and then wait a few seconds to let your finger dry a bit and then smell it.
- Wet your toothbrush and brush it across the top of the crown a few times before smelling the toothbrush.
- Floss either side of the crown and smell the floss.
Gently sucking on the area around the crown may also help. If you get a nasty taste in your mouth together with a positive smell test, then the smell is almost definitely coming from the crown.
Work Out Why the Crown Smells
In some cases, dental crowns whiff a bit if food gets trapped in their gum area or between neighbouring teeth. Give the crown and its surrounding teeth a good brush then floss the crown. If food is the source of the bad smell, then things should freshen up quickly and stay fresh. If this doesn't work, then the crown itself may have a problem. This can be hard to spot yourself. Even so, take a look at the crown in the mirror. If you can see a crack or a chip, then this could be the cause of the smell. If the crown's surface isn't perfect, it lets bacteria in.
See your dentist as soon as you can to have the dental crown assessed. If you did spot damage, or if your dentist finds a problem you couldn't see, then your dentist can sort this out. Bear in mind, that the crown may need to be replaced rather than repaired. This also applies if the crown is old and has lost some of its fit because your gums have changed shaped over the years.
Sometimes, a bad smell from a crown is a sign of a different problem. For example, if you had the crown put on after root canal work, then you might have an infection. This also needs immediate treatment.