How long can I wear an implant temporary crown?

Interested in knowing how long a temporary crown on a dental implant will last?  Want to know how long you can wear a dental implant temporary crown?

Typically implant crown temporaries are made to wear for anywhere from a few weeks for 4-6 months while the bone and tissue are healing.  Soft tissue matures after about 6-8 weeks, so if a dentist is attempting to make the tissue perfect before an impression that is how long the temporary will be expected to last.  Sometimes a temporary crown will be placed when the dental implant is placed.  In this case it is designed to last for months.

What will happen if I wear my implant dental temporary longer?

Dental implants are strong once healed, therefore nothing will happen to the dental implant.  The temporary is likely made out of some type of plastic so it will start to stain or wear down.  The tooth is designed to be temporary but there is nothing keeping it from being used longer.  Below is a patient of mine that wore his dental crown temporary for over a year.  Quite honestly his temporary was made well enough that I considered having him keep it as a permanent.  It was made from his own tooth, which is NOT what most dentists use.

Why would somewhere wear a dental implant temporary crown for longer?

The cost of getting a final crown or someone that is “just too busy” are major reasons that someone ends up in a dental implant temporary for longer than anticipated.  Restorative or surgical issues may be encountered that require the temporary to be worn longer.  If the crown is part of a larger restorative plan, then placing a new crown may not make sense yet.

What is a dental implant temporary made of?

This may dictate how long it will last.  Most are made of some sort of plastic.  The plastic ones will start to stain, they will wear down, and they can break.  Some are made of the person’s original tooth, like the example shown above.  These will not wear down or stain but they can break.

So, How long can you wear an implant temporary crown?

In conclusion, to answer “how long can I wear an implant temporary crown”, I would say until it breaks.  It will not hurt your dental implant, but it will start to look ugly at some point!

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