Hi guys, just had a crown done on Wednesday. The dentist told me to baby the temp crown. I get it, you don’t want it to come off. But today I was eating an egg salad sandwich and bit down with bread back on the left side where the crown is and MAN did my tooth light me up!

Is it just sore from the work he did? My jaw muscle on that side aches-but that’s normal.

Should I wait till Monday and see how it goes? Or call him Monday if it’s still sensitive?

Give him (her?) a call first thing Monday if it stays the same and doesn't improve. Assuming he's open, you still have today if it's really bad and he can work you in. In order of probability:

1. Post-op sensitivity from the prep and trauma (gum pain from packing retraction cord, the prep itself, the injection). It should improve over a few days.
2. Retained temporary cement below the gum line (red, inflamed gums). Requires removal of the cement (foreign body).
3. Hyperocclusion (the temporary is too high) and is in premature contact, requiring adjustment.
4. The tooth nerve is dying - depending on how much tooth needed to be removed, the pulp (nerve) of the tooth is traumatized and too close to the surface, and may not recover (requiring a root canal). Depends on the tooth - more frequently on anterior (front) teeth because they have less enamel and dentin. Also on condition - a crown is generally needed because of trauma or decay (sometimes cosmetics), but whatever caused the need for the crown in the first place could be catching up - tooth decay? Fracture? Previous root canal? Sometimes improves spontaneously, and is really a subset of #1 but more severe.

Zebras and not mules: needle track inflammation or infection (3 days out unlikely), periodontal abscess (just because you have one thing wrong doesn't mean you don't have two), adjacent tooth issue (sometimes hard to distinguish), if the upper jaw, sinusitis.

Or a combination of all of the above. Home care: avoid that area when chewing. Warm saltwater rinses unless sodium-restricted (couple of teaspoons in a glass), as many times as needed. More is better. Don't swallow. Topical anesthetics (like Ambesol) can help as well.

Bottom line, contact your dentist, soon or late depending on how severe. If he's a good dentist, he'll want to know.

Thanks Doc.
The crown was because there’s a small crack running down the center of the tooth towards front to back. Discovered when I was chomping a lifesaver on last Tuesday.

You bet! A horizontal fracture can divide the tooth depending on where it's located, if it progresses through the floor of the pulp chamber. A crown can sometimes sort of "splint" things together, even if the roots are separated (a molar has multiple roots), but it can have a poor long-term prognosis, and can be the cause of symptoms. No radiographs so just speculating, and your dentist would know, but could be the cause of immediate symptoms. Crowning a fractured tooth can still give it many years of service though, depending, but may require endodontics (root canal). If the fracture doesn't progress through the tooth a crown can salvage it good as new.

Yeah, looking down on the tooth it’s just cracked on the front portion. In the middle. But that molar had a lot of work last year removing the old silver amalgam fillings and replaced with new epoxy stuff. While he was removing that, he said there was a little decay under the filling.

I related to him that my dad said when he had a crown, uncle Nate always did a root canal. Dr. e said that that was an old way of doing it but it wasn’t needed and he would know once he was into the tooth.

Yep, endo generally not needed unless the nerve is damaged or gone. Doesn't solve every problem, because when the nerve is removed the tooth loses some of its elasticity, and can fracture more easily - hence a crown. Crowns have come a long way too - including milled ceramic crowns from a 3D printer, that can be cemented same day, no impressions necessary. All else fails and a tooth needs to be extracted, surgeons can place an endosseous implant often on the day of surgery (at least the implant and the abutments - the "inside" of a crown). Ain't science wonderful?