What do you do if you suspect that you have broken or fractured a tooth? You would ideally seek Dentist help as soon as possible.
There are many things that can cause fractures or breaks in teeth such as biting down too hard on something, trauma to the face or mouth, falling or having cavities. A football may strike your mouth at Saturday morning soccer, or you could have fallen on your way to your bus stop on Monday morning. No matter the cause, fractured or broken teeth shouldn’t be ignored.
A fractured tooth may not always cause pain and the tooth might look fine, however there may be damage to the tooth or the tooth roots that you may not be aware of. In such cases, the damage could eventually lead to pain or even tooth loss.
If you have broken your tooth, ensure you rinse your mouth with warm water and apply a piece of gauze and slight pressure on any bleeding areas until your appointment with the Dentist.
The type of treatment you receive from the Dentist depends on how severe the fracture or break is. Usually only a filling is used to repair the fracture or break, however in more serious cases, a crown is required to cover the filling and the tooth. If the Dentist finds that your tooth nerve has been damaged a root canal is needed.
Due to many of us living stressful lives, we are more likely to grind our teeth. Grinding your teeth actually causes little cracks or micro-fractures in teeth which may not be evident to you. You may start to sense pain when chewing or when any pressure is applied to the teeth. The treatment for micro-fractures depends on the severity, however similar to breaks in the teeth, if it has reached the nerve, it will require root canal therapy.
There are many preventative options available for fractures, breaks and micro-fractures. If you are an individual who plays contact sports or are subject to environments that increase your chance of facial trauma it might be a good idea to use a mouth guard. If you have noticed that you grind a lot, an occlusal splint will help you from causing further damage to teeth or if you do not prefer wearing a splint, botox can be used to relax your jaw muscles.