I had to get a dental crown on a back tooth. When the temporary crown first went in, my teeth felt sensitive. Then, since the permanent crown came in, I have had extra saliva, sores in my mouth, a bitter taste, and bad breath. Is it possible the crown caused a yeast infection in my mouth?

Pamela

Dear Pamela,

You’ve listed a lot of symptoms here and all of them have various causes. The sensitivity after temporary crowns is normal and usually ends shortly after the permanent ones.

As for a yeast infection, is it possible you’ve been rinsing a lot with peroxide in an effort to help with your situation? While it can be a good periodic disinfectant, using it more than just occasionally will lead to a yeast infection.

Sometimes after a stressful dental appointment, a person can develop burning mouth syndrome, but one of the main symptoms of that is dry mouth and you said extra saliva, so I am going to rule that out.

Sores in your mouth are usually from either stress or a virus. The other two symptoms, bad breath and a bitter taste, usually have to do with oral hygiene. Sometimes, after getting a dental crown where someone’s mouth is sensitive, they ease up on the brushing and flossing, but that actually exacerbates the problem. Dig in there without being delicate and it will help.

Of course, there is the possibility you are having trouble getting everything from around the crown. In those cases, something like a WaterPik will help.

Try those things and if it doesn’t help after a couple of weeks, see your dentist again and have him or her look at things.

This blog is brought to you Phoenix Dentist Dr. Hillary Peck.