Chrissy Teigen says she's eating only soup and mashed potatoes after losing 4 'teeth' in a Fruit Roll-Up mishap

• Chrissy Teigen said she lost not one but four "teeth" while eating a Fruit Roll-Up.
• She previously told a fan that while they were temporary caps, she loved them like real teeth.
• An orthodontist told Insider the best way to avoid losing caps was routine dental care.

Chrissy Teigen's dental injuries from a Fruit Roll-Up mishap may have been more extensive than previously reported. She didn't lose one tooth cap while enjoying her snack - it was actually four.

On January 21, Teigen said in a Twitter video that she'd lost a tooth while eating candy. Teigen clarified in a follow-up tweet that it was a dental cap but she "loved him like he was a real tooth."

More recently, during an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Monday, Teigen told Ellen DeGeneres that she'd lost multiple temporary caps in the "bubble of inauguration." Teigen was in Washington, DC, with her husband, John Legend, and their two young children for the presidential-inauguration celebration.

"What were you doing that you lost your teeth?" DeGeneres asked Teigen.

"In the bubble, there was only one thing you could do. And that was go to CVS," Teigen said.

"They had all this Valentine's Day stuff, so I bought mini Fruit Roll-Ups and I had one bite of one and then this one came off," Teigen added, pointing at the missing tooth.

"You honestly have no idea how important your teeth are until they're gone," she added.

Teigen told DeGeneres she lost dental caps in all four corners of her mouth and that she was having trouble eating solids. For the next 10 days, Teigen said her diet would consist of mashed potatoes and soup.

A cap, also known as a dental crown, is a tooth-shaped covering placed over teeth, either because of damage over time or because of some kind of injury.

According to experts, Teigen's mishap is both easy to avoid and manageable

"People should maintain their routine dental care, including their routine visits to the dentist, so any early sign of a loose crown can be immediately dealt with," Dr. Kami Hoss, an orthodontist in California, told Insider.

Dr. Angela Abernathy, a dentist with Boutique Smiles of Manhattan, told Insider "the absolute best thing to do" to prevent losing a crown was "to avoid eating anything extremely sticky."

"However, if you can't resist the urge, enjoy it on the opposite side. If you have multiple crowns or veneers, just avoid the sticky food and candy," Abernathy said.

If you do find yourself in Teigen's situation, don't try any do-it-yourself solutions, particularly those involving superglue, Hoss said.

"As a general rule, people should avoid doing any DIY procedures to glue the crown back on," Hoss said. "I've seen people using superglue to bond their crowns back."

He added that superglue was toxic and could create problems down the road for the dentist who has to more permanently fix the crown.

Abernathy recommended using an over-the-counter product called Dentemp, which can hold the cap in place until you have a chance to see a doctor. She added that it could be found in most pharmacies.

About the same time as her appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Teigen shared photos of herself in a dental office.