Any part of the tooth may break or develop fractures. The fractures may be visible though this is not always the case. If you experience pain while chewing food or it suddenly becomes sensitive to cold or hot foods, it may be an indication of a dental fracture or a broken tooth. In most cases, the pain associated with fractured and broken teeth comes and goes. This may make it hard for the dentist to locate the broken tooth, especially if the fracture is small. If you suspect that you have a broken or a fractured tooth, it is advisable to seek medical attention. Ignoring a dental fracture could make you lose your tooth in the end. La Puente Emergency Dentist offers reliable treatment for fractured and broken teeth in La Puente.
Symptoms of a Fractured or Broken Tooth
The symptoms of a fractured tooth will depend on the extent of the fracture. It is not apparent for a cracked tooth to exhibit any symptoms. Most people walk around with fractured teeth without even realizing it. Mild forms of dental fractures are harmless and may not require any treatment.
If you have a chipped tooth, you are not likely to experience any pain, especially if the chip is not large enough to expose the nerves in the inner layer of your tooth. If the chip in a tooth is big enough to expose the nerves inside the tooth, you may experience pain and sensitivity while chewing. You may also experience sensitivity if you expose the tooth to cold or hot beverages. If you have a chip on one of the pointed chewing surfaces of a tooth, often known as a broken cusp, this chip is not likely to cause pain. However, you are likely to feel the sharp broken edge of the tooth using your tongue. It is advisable to visit a dental professional. Your dentist may apply dental inlays or a dental crown to prevent further damage on the tooth and restore the shape of the tooth.
If you have a cracked tooth, the crack may not just affect your tooth's enamel but may extend down to the root of the tooth. With a cracked tooth, you may only experience discomfort while chewing or after consuming hot and cold foods. If you notice a cracked tooth, it is advisable to seek immediate dental attention to have the tooth checked.
Other symptoms of a fractured or broken tooth that you may experience include swollen gums around the cracked tooth. Your teeth may suddenly become sensitive to sweetness. You may also experience pain, which comes and goes. Many people with broken and fractured report discomfort around the teeth and the gums, which is hard to pinpoint.
Causes of a Fractured and Broken Tooth
Several factors may lead to fractured and broken teeth. Some of the leading causes include dental cavities. If you develop cavities, they may weaken your teeth and make them susceptible to fractures and breakages. A bad bite may also lead to dental fractures. For instance, your teeth may crack or break if you bite on a hard item like an ice cube, a bone, or a piece of hard candy.
Experiencing facial trauma or hard hits may also lead to fractured and broken teeth. For instance, you may experience trauma on your face and your teeth when another player hits you on the face with a ball in the course of the game.
Practicing poor dental hygiene may also make you prone to dental fractures and teeth breakages. This is mainly the case if your tooth enamel is thinning or worn-out. Bruxism is also a leading cause of teeth, fractures, and damages, and it refers to excessive grinding of the teeth. However, for the majority of people, teeth grinding occurs at night in their sleep.
You may be prone to tooth fractures if you have large existing dental fillings. Dental fillings, especially if poorly placed, may weaken the remaining tooth structure making the tooth break easily. Your tooth may also crack due to a sudden change in temperature. For instance, if you burn your mouth while taking a hot beverage and immediately take a cold drink to soothe the pain, your tooth may crack.
Diagnosing a Fractured Tooth
A fractured or a broken tooth is not always easy to diagnose. If the fracture or the crack on your tooth is not visible, your dentist may try to diagnose the tooth by asking you about your dental history and any symptoms you may be experiencing. Your dentist may also use a magnifying glass to examine your teeth and identify any cracks on them.
Your dentist may also use a dental explorer, which is a pointed instrument that catches on any rough edges on the tooth's surface. By using a dental dye, a dentist may also be able to make cracks on the tooth more visible.
When diagnosing a dental fracture, the dentist may check your gums for signs of inflammation or irritation. If you have cracks on your teeth, the cracks tend to irritate the gums. Your dentist may also request you to bite on something. By exerting pressure on your teeth through the bite, the dentist will be able to identify the source of the pain.
X-ray of the teeth may also be an ideal way of identifying a dental fracture. A dental x-ray may not reveal where a crack has developed on the tooth. However, a dental x-ray will show any problems in the pulp of the teeth. If a specific area of the pulp appears unhealthy, it may suggest a crack on the neighboring tooth.
The dentist may also diagnose a fractured tooth using trans-illumination. This procedure entails passing a light through the tooth to help reveal the broken part. The dentist may also rely on periodontal probing to determine the extent of fracture on the tooth. This procedure entails using special tools to assess the extent of a crack on the tooth. Early diagnosis of teeth fractures may help you to save the tooth before the fracture progresses.
When to Seek Dental Treatment
If you suspect that you have cracks on the teeth, you should make an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible. It is particularly important to make an appointment with your dentist if you are experiencing pain and discomfort on the teeth.
Before you get to the dentist, you may use several remedies to relieve pain or discomfort that comes with a fractured or broken tooth. Some of the remedies include rinsing the mouth with warm water to keep it clean and to soothe the pain on the tooth. You may also consider taking over the counter medication like ibuprofen to help alleviate the pain. You may apply a cold compress against your cheek to help reduce the swelling on the gum.
You should not wait too long before seeking treatment for your fractured tooth. The longer you stay with a fractured tooth, the harder it may be for the dentist to save your tooth. Failing to seek treatment for a broken tooth may lead to enhanced complications like infection.
Emergency Dental Services for Fractured Teeth
If you have a minor fracture on your tooth and it does not hurt, it may not constitute a dental emergency, and you may wait for several days before seeking treatment. However, even when you have a minor fracture on the tooth, you should be careful while chewing. You should also choose what to eat wisely. Careless chewing and biting on hard items may break the tooth more. With a minor fracture, your dentist may smooth the small fracture out. The dentist may also use composite filling material to repair the small fracture.
If the fracture has extended to the inside of the tooth as well as the outside, it may constitute a dental emergency. Severe and extensive fractures may be too serious to the extent that it would be impossible to save the tooth. If you suffer a fractured tooth, you should call your dentist immediately to book an emergency appointment.
If the dental fracture has occurred due to facial trauma, you should cold compress the affected area to help reduce inflammation. You may also take over-the-counter pain medication according to the packaging directions to help relieve the pain. However, you should ensure that you do not take aspirin. It is not advisable to apply painkillers directly to your gum. Applying painkillers directly to the gum may burn the gum tissue.
For emergency dental fractures, the dentist may have to conduct an x-ray to help diagnose the condition of your tooth. You may have to undergo a root canal treatment if the soft tissue inside your tooth has suffered damages. However, if the damage on the tooth has not extended to the pulp, you may only require a dental crown to repair the tooth.
If your dentist makes his/her permanent dental crowns and keeps them in the dental office, you may get the crowns on the same day of the initial dental appointment. However, if the dentist relies on an outside laboratory to make the dental crowns, you may have to make another visit to the dental office. In this case, you would have to wear temporary dental crowns while waiting for the laboratory to make the permanent dental crowns for you. To get the impression of your tooth, the dentist may use a putty-like material. This will ensure that the laboratory makes the perfect-fit of dental crowns.
If the fracture on the tooth is severely extensive, it may be impossible for the dentist to save your tooth. In this case, the dentist may inform you of the various alternatives available for replacing missing. For instance, the dentist may remove the remaining bit of the tooth and recommend implant-supported bridges and teeth replacements.
Common Forms of Dental Fractures
Dental fractures are more common in adults, mainly in people over the age of 40 years. Women are more likely to develop dental fractures than men. Fractures and cracks on teeth may vary in length and depth, depending on the location of the tooth. Minor cracks known as craze lines may develop on your tooth enamel. Most people do not notice craze lines on their teeth, and unless craze lines cause symptoms, they may not call for dental treatment.
Other types of fractures that may develop on the teeth include oblique supragingival cracks. These cracks mainly affect the crown of the tooth and do not extend beyond the gum line. Therefore, fractures may not be painful.
You may also develop oblique subgingival cracks on the teeth. These fractures can be painful because they extend below the gum line. Treatment for these cracks is necessary to help expose the crown and restore the tooth.
You may have a split tooth when cracks develop on your tooth and split the tooth into two. Your dentist may be able to save one portion of the tooth by restoring it using a dental crown. If you have a split tooth, you may require root canal treatment to restore the tooth.
You may also develop oblique root cracks, which do not show on the tooth's surface. With this type of fracture, the damage will occur below the gum line, commonly below the jawbone. With this form of dental fracture, the dentist may not be able to save your tooth; tooth extraction may be the only option.
It is also common for people to develop fractured cusps. This is a situation where a piece of the chewing surface of your tooth breaks. It is common to experience a broken cusp if you have a dental filling.
Vertical apical root cracks are also common forms of dental fractures. These fractures typically start at the root of the tooth and extend upward toward the tooth's crown. The cracks may vary in length. However, if you develop vertical apical root cracks, tooth extraction may be the only remedy because of the severe pain involved.
Treatment Options for Fractured Teeth
A dentist may employ several treatment options for fractured teeth. The treatment option that a dentist uses will depend on the extent of dental fracture or breakage. Treating a fractured tooth does not aim at healing the tooth. The treatment aims at protecting the tooth and the pulp interior of the tooth. You should talk to your dentist, who can recommend the best treatment method for you. Some of the standard treatment options for fractured and broken teeth include:
Bonding
Dental bonding refers to a cosmetic dental procedure where the uses a composite resin, which resembles your teeth on one or several teeth to minimize tooth damage. Dental bonding may be an ideal procedure if you have suffered minor teeth fractures. Bonding is a cosmetic dental procedure that does not just repair small teeth fractures but all improve the appearance of the teeth. The process is cost-effective and considerably inexpensive compared to other forms of cosmetic dental treatments.
Tooth bonding is a simple dental procedure and will not require local anesthesia unless the dentist needs to fill a dental cavity in the fractured tooth first. To select a bonding that matches the natural look of your teeth, the dentist may use a shade chart/guide. The dentist will then use a liquid or gel to roughen the tooth's surface. By preparing the tooth’s surface, it will be easy for the bonding resin to stick on the tooth.
After applying the special gel or liquid, the dentist will then apply the composite material and mold or shape the tooth. To help harden the composite material, the dentist may use ultraviolet light. Even after the resin dries and hardens, the dentist may still shape your teeth to ensure that your bite is correct.
Dental Crowns
Your dentist may recommend dental crowns if the breakage or the fracture on the tooth is extensive, and filling may not restore the natural function of your tooth. A crown is a dental restoration, which surrounds a tooth and forms a cap above the gum line. If you suffer a tooth fracture after experiencing a blow on your face, a dental crown can help to hold the tooth together and prevent the tooth from further damage.
Before making a dental crown, your dentist has to determine the size of your tooth to ensure that the crown will fit well over your tooth. The dentist then makes an impression of your teeth and may have a laboratory make a custom crown just for you. As you wait for the new crown, the dentist may place a temporary crown on the tooth to help hold it together. During the second dental visit, your dentist removes the temporary dental crown and cements the permanent crown in place.
There are several types of dental crowns. The common types of crowns include metal crowns, resin and dental crowns, porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns, and all-porcelain and all-ceramic crowns. With the right care, dental crowns may serve you for many years.
Veneers
Dental veneers refer to thin coverings placed above the tooth if you have a slight fracture on the tooth’s surface. The dentist may place porcelain veneers, which are predominantly cosmetic. The veneers consist of thin shells of dental ceramics. The veneers help to mask the imperfections of the teeth from view. When you have a porcelain veneer in place, your tooth will appear perfect and pristine.
Veneers come in handy in treating a wide range of cosmetic concerns, the most common being fractured and broken teeth. If you only have one broken tooth, you may only get one dental veneer. However, if you have several broken teeth, you may get between six and eight veneers to help create an even symmetrical smile. Veneers may last for up to fifteen years. How long dental veneers last will depend on several factors, including the level of care and maintenance for the veneers.
Root Canal
The dentist may recommend root canal treatment in a case where severe damage has occurred on the teeth. Root canal treatment is ideal if damage has extended to the pulp of the tooth. When conducting a root canal procedure, the dentist cleans out the damaged pulp and places a new filler within your tooth.
After completing the root canal procedure, the dentist places a crown on the fractured tooth to prevent the crack from extending or spreading.
Tooth Extraction
When a tooth fracture causes damage, which extends below the gum line, it may not be possible to save the tooth. In this case, tooth extraction may be the only remedy. At times, the dentist may remove a portion of the tooth and restore the remaining part. This is often the case if you have suffered a split tooth.
Cracked Tooth Syndrome
Your teeth may suffer pain due to several reasons. The leading causes of pain include tooth decay, tooth sensitivity, and gum disease. However, teeth may hurt due to damage like dental fractures and breakages. You may be experiencing a cracked tooth syndrome if your teeth hurt every time, you bite down on a fractured tooth.
The syndrome starts with the development of cracks on the teeth. The cracks are often tiny, making it hard to appear on a dental x-ray. The small fractures may develop due to bruxism, which is a condition that entails grinding the teeth. The condition may also occur due to poor jaw alignment, which puts unbalanced pressure on specific teeth.
If you have a cracked tooth syndrome, you may experience pain on the molars and your back teeth. This is because the molars do most of the work while chewing food. You may also notice that whenever you bite down in a certain way, your teeth hurt. Pain resulting from a cracked tooth syndrome is different from the pain associated with a dental cavity or dental abscess.
Preventing Dental Fractures and Tooth Breakage
You can reduce your risk of developing dental fractures by avoiding chewing on hard objects like ice, popcorn kernels, ice, and pens. You should also be aware of temperature extremes when dealing with hot foods and drinks. You should also wear mouthguards while engaging in sporting activities.
Find an Experienced La Puente Emergency Dentist Near Me
If you suffer a fractured or broken tooth, an experienced dentist can help to restore the functionality of your tooth. La Puente Emergency Dentist provides reliable treatment services for fractured teeth. Contact us at 626-995-1640 and speak to one of our dentists.
