How long your crown lasts is ultimately up to you. You can choose a highly durable material to create your crown out of, avoid damaging habits that can cause premature degradation in your crown, and practice good oral hygiene to prevent oral health problems in the underlying tooth.

Durable and long-lasting materials include all metal and zirconia crowns. Porcelain-fused-to-metal is somewhere in the middle and porcelain and ceramic crowns have a reduced life expectancy but are much more aesthetic which may be more of a priority in the front teeth.

As a general rule, fragile crowns should be placed in the front of the mouth and durable crowns in the back. The back teeth are used for chewing which means the crowns will undergo more force and wear and tear.

There are three important areas of crown maintenance to consider to maintain the integrity of your dental crowns over time. The first is oral hygiene – covering a tooth with a crown doesn’t protect you from oral health problems if you don’t care for your teeth and gums properly.

You should brush your teeth twice a day with a soft bristle toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste. You should also brush your tongue and floss once a day. No matter how good your oral hygiene is at home, you still need to go to the dentist every 6 months for a cleaning and checkup.

The next area of consideration is wear and tear. You need to prevent damage to your crowns by limiting your exposure to damage and avoiding it where possible. This might mean getting fit for a custom mouthguard if you grind your teeth, avoid eating hard, sticky, and crunchy foods, or stop harmful habits like chewing on ice, your fingernails, and using your teeth to open packages.

Finally, if you have a tooth-colored crown, you will need to reduce your exposure to stains. The first thing you should cut out are tobacco products, which can cause significant discoloration. Then you should limit your consumption of highly pigmented foods and drinks or at least rinse your mouth with water afterward. You can also try drinking through a straw to limit contact with the teeth.