Dentemp is a product you can use to make temporary fillings or as a dental cement to secure loose crowns. It’s a very handy short-term solution for those times when it’s not practical to visit a dentist and can be a godsend if you have a problem with your teeth while you are travelling.
I’ve been using Dentemp for a couple of years so I think I have enough experience to write an informed review.
Although a Dentemp review may seem a somewhat strange choice for a travel blog, it’s such a useful travel companion I decided to publish this review here instead of on one of my other sites. I’m nomadic and Dentemp has earned its place in my first aid kit. Wherever I go, it goes too.
To be honest, it’s probably more accurate to say I’ve been abusing Dentemp for a couple of years because it’s only intended to provide a quick, temporary fix until you can see a dentist. I’m still using it to replace a filling I lost two years ago while I was living in Szeged, Hungary.
It’s a big cavity. A Hungarian dentist put a temporary filling in it and told me the tooth needs a crown. He offered to do it but I was flying to Spain in a couple of days and didn’t have the time to hang around.
When the temporary filling fell out, I replaced it with Dentemp. I’ve been doing that ever since. Crowns are expensive and I’m on a tight budget so I’ll probably be continuing making temporary fillings for quite a while.
How Long Does a Dentemp Repair Last?
I can’t comment on how long the repair will last if you use Dentemp to secure a loose crown but, if you are using it as a temporary filling, it can last a long time.
How long the repair lasts will depend on the size of the cavity and where it’s located. The kind of foods you eat and how careful you are while eating can also make a difference to how long the temporary filling lasts.
When you use Dentemp to repair large cavities, the temporary filling is unlikely to last as long as a smaller filling would. Temporary fillings placed on the sides of the teeth should last longer than fillings on top of the teeth.
I’m using Dentemp to fill a very big cavity in one of my molars so that’s as bad as it gets and the temporary filling generally lasts around a couple of weeks. Occasionally a little longer.
If you clean your teeth and then have a good rinse with warm water before you apply the temporary filling, the cement sticks better. The filling will last longer if you avoid using it to chew hard foods such as nuts or pizza crusts. With a little care, it should be easy to keep your filling in place for at least a couple of weeks. You may get a lot longer than that if you only have a small cavity on the side of your tooth.
How to Use Dentemp
The cement is housed in a small plastic bottle with a clip-on lid that has plastic hinges. It’s less than 50% full. This makes it hard to access the cement but Dentemp comes with a small tool you can use to dig some of it out.
Fortunately, you don’t need much. According to the pack, each pot is good for 12 or more repairs. If you have a large cavity you won’t get that many. I generally manage to get around five to six temporary fillings per pot.
Making a Temporary Filling
The usage guidelines tell you to wash your hands and then rinse the cavity with warm water but, as I already mentioned, I like to brush my teeth first.
There’s no need to try and dry the cavity. The cement sticks better if you leave it moist.
The first thing you do is dig out a little cement with the end of the plastic tool. Then you pick it off with your fingers and roll it into a ball. The cement is sticky stuff so you need to wet your fingers before you try to do this.
When you have your little ball of cement, it’s just a case of pressing it into the cavity and removing any excess cement with your fingers. You may need to bite on the cement to make sure there are no high points. All in all, though, Dentemp is pretty easy to use and it tastes the same as the temporary fillings dentists put in so it might be similar stuff.
When you are happy with the repair, you have to leave the filling to set. This takes two hours and you are not meant to eat during this time.
Re-Cementing a Crown
I’ve never had to do this but the instructions on the box make it sound pretty simple to do.
The first step is to remove the old cement from the crown. As much as you can, anyway. Next, you rinse the crown. You also need to rinse the tooth you will be fitting it to and leave both the crown and the tooth moist.
The next thing to do is check the crown still fits on the tooth okay. If it does, use the special tool to add some cement to the inside edge and the open end of the crown. Then press the crown onto your wet tooth. Bite a few times to check everything feels okay and then remove any excess cement around your gum.
As with a temporary filling, it’s inadvisable to eat food for at least a couple of hours.
Earlier in this review, I admitted I’ve been using Dentemp to make temporary fillings for a long time. If I was using it to hold a crown in place, I wouldn’t feel comfortable using it long-term.
I grind my teeth in my sleep. Many years ago this caused me to lose a crown. I woke up with it in my mouth and will always be grateful I didn’t choke on it or swallow it in my sleep. The crown was held in place with the original dental cement. Dentemp won’t be as strong so relying on it indefinitely may not be a smart thing to do.
Is Dentemp Good Value for Money?
In the UK, Dentemp costs around ￡5. You can buy it at Savers, Superdrug, Boots, and most pharmacies. It’s also possible to buy it on Amazon.
The price can vary a little in other European countries but is typically around €8 to €9 per box.
I’m a mean penny-pinching Yorkshireman and even I can’t complain about the price.
When you open the pot and see it’s not full, it can make you feel like you’ve been ripped off, but even if you need to make big fillings and only get five per pot, that’s only ￡1 per filling. It’s hard to grumble about that and, if you can’t get a dental appointment, a Dentemp filling can save you a lot of pain and distress. It’s definitely worth the money.
Final Thoughts
I’ve written this review for people who are searching for information about Dentemp and want to know how well it works. However, because this is a travel blog, I’d like to point out, once again, what a good addition Dentemp is to a travel first aid kit. It’s handy if you need it and doesn’t take up much space if you don’t and the net weight is only 2.2 grams (0.08 oz)
The box is small, but you don’t need to take it along. All you need is the little blue tub. The special tool is handy, but you could use something else instead. The end of a teaspoon would work very well. Most rented rooms will have a teaspoon, and there are any number of things you could use instead.
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Hey, thanks for your review! I’m an American who lost part of a filling when I bit down on a piece of gristle in a steak, but this is the Friday before Monday New Year’s Day. No dentist available until at least Wednesday. I did get a call back from my dentist when I called the emergency line. He suggested Dentemp and said it’s very similar To what he would use if he could see me. I need a crown also, and it’s a big filling. Lucky I only lost part of it. My first try didn’t set up before I ate some oatmeal and it was gone when I finished. I’m trying again and leaving it alone for 3 hours. I could tell the first time it took away the sensitivity, and a little clove oil apparently in it helps too. Safe travels- hope you got a permanent fix on that tooth!
Hi Luke,
Hope the Dentemp filling helps to keep your free from discomfort until you can see a dentist.
As for my tooth… in the end I paid to have it removed. Removal was cheaper than getting a crown and, at the time, I couldn’t afford it. However, I can’t complain about my experience with Dentemp, it helped me to keep my tooth for a few years longer.
Now it’s gone a I miss it. I’ve become more prone too biting my tongue while eating. The teeth behind it were already gone so there is less to act as a barrier against side movement and help keep the tongue in place..This is one of those things you learn by experience.