Treatments to Repair Broken Teeth
There is no doubt that your teeth are extremely hard, but even then there are possibilities and situations that can cause your teeth to break. Some of these possibilities are :- biting on an extremely hard object
- a really hard blow or punch direct to the face
- cavities
Sometimes a fall can also cause a broken tooth especially in children.
How Do You Know If You Have a Broken Tooth
Believe it or not, not all broken teeth are obvious because they do not necessarily cause pain and it also depends on how severe the broken tooth is. There are 3 layers to a tooth – the hardest outer layer is known as the enamel; the second layer is known as the dentin and the center portion where the nerves are situated is known as the pulp.- If the tooth has merely chipped a little, where only the enamel has been affected, then you may not notice the difference immediately or feel any pain.
- If the tooth has broken until the dentin is exposed, then you may feel a little discomfort and sensitivity to cold or hot food or liquid. However pain will not be that evident.
- If the tooth has broken enough to reach the pulp, then needless to say that severe pain and sometimes even bleeding from the tooth may occur.
If you suspect that you have a broken tooth then you should visit your dentist immediately because he would be able to determine the cause and also he will be able to offer the best treatment to avoid further damage. If at all you manage to save your broken tooth then make sure that you take it along to the dentist to see if there is a possibility to attach your tooth back into place.
Repairing Your Broken Tooth
The course of treatment for your broken tooth will depend on the extent of the break and also where your tooth has broken i.e. front teeth or back teeth. Different types of break will be treated differently. For instance :A crack on your tooth that breaks a small portion of your tooth
In this case, the tooth has cracked until a portion of the tooth falls off. Actually treatment is not necessary. However if you are concerned that it may affect your looks or would just like to make it look better, then any one of the following can be done
- If the portion of the broken tooth is available, then there is a possibility that the dentist can cement it back into place.
- Another option would be to smoothen the chipped tooth with a sandpaper disc
- A filling made from a composite material can be placed to even the tooth
A broken tooth that needs other dental treatment before restoration
In this case the tooth is broken till the dentin is exposed. This is considered to be a more serious problem where the dentist just cannot treat the broken tooth with a crown.
- If only the dentin is exposed then your dentist will cover it with calcium hydroxide, a substance which is as hard as enamel.
- If the broken tooth has reached the pulp, then there are 2 possibilities of treatment
- A procedure called ‘crown lengthening’ will be performed before a crown is placed. This procedure becomes necessary because the dental crown cannot reach far below the gum line hence further damage to the gums in the surrounding area could occur
- A root canal is another possibility if the broken tooth has damaged the pulp or the nerves of your tooth. Therefore the root has to be removed prior to a dental crown.
A tooth is broken beyond repair
If unfortunately the broken tooth has extended to a deep large portion of the root way down the gum line, your dentist may not be able to find a solution to save the tooth. In this case the only option is to extract the remainder of the broken tooth. This is the last option when nothing else can be done.