A broken tooth not only looks bad, but it can interfere with your eating. If you lack the funds right now to get the tooth properly fixed, you can do a temporary fix yourself to get by until you can go to the dentist and get the tooth permanently fixed. Here is how you can put a homemade crown on your broken tooth so you can eat and smile until you get to the dentist.

Supplies

You are going to need to gather supplies before you start building your own crown. You will need to obtain:

• A couple of tubes of light-cure dental composite resin
• A small blue LED light that fits easily into your mouth and produces light in the 400-500nm (nanometer) range to cure the deposit
• Small tools like precision screwdrivers that will help you apply and smooth the resin.
• Cotton Balls
• Antiseptic Mouthwash
• Toothpaste and brush
• Hair Dryer
• Glue

Clean the Tooth

You need to clean the tooth to remove any food remnants that might be stuck to it. Next, rinse the tooth and your mouth thoroughly with an antiseptic mouthwash to kill the bacteria in your mouth.

Dry the Tooth

You need to dry the tooth as best as you can. Take a couple of cotton balls and stick them between your cheek and gums where the tooth is located. Use a regular hand-held hair dryer to blow warm air into your mouth to dry the tooth.

Apply the Composite Resin

You want to apply a thin coating of the composite resin to the whole tooth. The composite resin material is only translucent in thin coats; so, if you apply a thick coat, the LED light won't be able to penetrate the resin and cure the composite material so it hardens. You should bite down once you apply a layer of composite. This will make sure that you maintain your normal bite as you apply the composite resin.

Harden Composite Resin

You need to apply the blue LED light to the composite resin. Place the light over one part of your tooth and hold it there for about a minute. Then, move the light to another section of the tooth and hold it there for about another minute. You want to make sure all of the composite resin gets treated by the light.

Repeat Procedure

Keep on repeating the above procedures for each thin coating you apply to your tooth. Stop applying the composite resin once the crown on your tooth is built up to match the height of the teeth next to it.

Cement Temporary Crown

The composite resin will not bond to your natural tooth and you'll have to cement it in place so it holds. You should use glue that contains 2-octyl cyanoacrylate. Octyl cyanoacrylate glues are used in medical and dental procedures as it is non-toxic and hypoallergenic. You should always keep a tube of this type of glue on you as the crown may break off now and again and you'll need to glue it back on until you can get a proper crown done by a dentist.

It is important to note that this is just a temporary fix, and you definitely still need to see a dentist to get a proper dental crown to ensure the health of your tooth and mouth overall.