I have a dental crown that is about 1.5 years old. Recently when I floss around it the floss smells real bad.

It's almost like a dead or decaying smell. This started the end of last week. I'm assuming there is some sort of infection underneath the crown. I don't have bad breath nor are the gums swollen but I've been getting cold chills and slight fevers. I've made a dental appointment friday and I'm concerned he will have to remove the crown. I was told since there is a metal post there supporting most of the tooth stump for the crown all i will need is antibiotics to clear it up????

I have a dental crown that is about 1.5 years old. Recently when I floss around it the floss smells real bad.
What you "have" is a crowned tooth, that has had root canal therapy, this tooth also had a post placed for added stability and core build up was used to replace any missing tooth structure that was removed during the prep due to decay or fracture.





Even with the best of patients, a tooth can go bad. One and a half years isn't a good sign that the crown was made correctly. Teeth that have had root canal therapy can go unnoticed easily since the tooth won't cause pain unless an abscess forms.





This may be something as simple as a particle of food that has become lodged under the tissue and caused an irritation or infection. This happens a lot with patients who eat nuts or popcorn, the skins or hulls can slip under the tissue going unnoticed even after flossing, causing an irritation and if left an infection.





In another scenario, it could be that the crown is leaking.


This happens when decay starts at the gum line at the root of the tooth where the crown margin starts, and it eventually works its way up under the crown. This also can be what causes a nasty taste and odor.





If it's just debris under the tissue it can be easily cleaned out and usually antibiotics aren't necessary. If this is due to a leaking crown, the crown will need to be removed in order to remove the decay. Once the crown comes off, it usually has to be remade; the decay may compromise the margins of the tooth and crown or where the two come together. If possible your dentist will clean the tooth up placing a new build up material if necessary and re-cement the crown. If the crown does not fit precisely to the margin it will need to be re-made, otherwise it will leak again causing more decay to develop.





These are the two most common problems that can occur with a RCT/crowned tooth. Hopefully you will have the simpler of the two. Hope I've been of some help and good luck with your pending procedure.





Additional information: Due to the age of this crown you should not be responsible for the re-make, unless it's caused by decay that you could have prevented.
Reply:This may be just swollen from the food being lodged or it may be what we refer to as a "food trap." Continue to monitor the area keeping it clean and free of food particles. Report It

Reply:If you find this area constantly harboring food particles you may need to have it checked. A new crown should be fabricated so that the contacts are tight so as to prevent food from doing just what yours has. Report It

Reply:It may be that your crowns contact is open causing this problem, improper contacts can lead to subgingival root decay and crown failure. Report It

Reply:I hope for you that it just takes antibiotics. It all sounds painful. Hope you heal soon.
Reply:There is not a metal post in a crown. Your tooth is filed down to fit under the crown. It could be there is a food particle that got trapped under the crown and caused the infection. It should be removed just to insure there is nothing under the crown. The procedure should not take too long unless they need to replace the crown.
Reply:I used to work for a dentist and this is normal, the smell is anyway. but making an appointment is a good idea because the crown could be coming loose.


Good Luck... Oh and don't worry about the smell at the dentists office, like I said they all smell like that.
Reply:The bad smell comes from the big probability of the crown leaking. When a crown leaks you can get decay under the crown and would cause you to have this bad smell. The only way you would have a metal post in this tooth is if you already had a root canal on it. If that is so, and the root canal was done right, its probably not infection, so antibiotics won't help. If the crown is leaking it will need to be removed and have a new one placed. After only 1 and 1/2 years, there is a good chance your dentist didn't do a great job when cementing the crown on. There shouldn't be leakage only in that short period of time. You may want to find a new dentist