A tooth chip, crack, or fracture is highly painful and requires immediate treatment. Professional treatment is essential regardless of the size or severity of your tooth damage. Waiting to fix a broken tooth can lead to more dental problems. Broken teeth are a dental concern we treat in our Bensalem, PA, dental office.
As soon as you break a tooth, contact our office. We will help restore your tooth to its natural appearance.
What to Do if You Break a Tooth
If you have just broken a tooth, try to recover any pieces that broke off. Gently rinse your mouth with saltwater. If you have a jagged edge, put sugarless gum or wax over the sharp edge. This will protect your mouth’s tissues. You can also take pain medication and apply a cold compress to the side of your cheek to reduce swelling.
Then, contact our office for emergency dental treatment. You can put broken pieces of your tooth in a cup of saliva. If you keep them moist, we may be able to reattach them. However, if we cannot, we may recommend bonding, crowns, or tooth removal. Your treatment will depend on the extent of your tooth damage.
Why Should You Fix Broken Teeth?
There are many reasons why you should immediately fix a broken tooth:
- Infection: Harmful bacteria can enter a crack in the tooth and affect the nerves and blood vessels in the tooth or the pulp. If the infection reaches the outside of the tooth, it can form a dental abscess.
- Further injury: A break in your tooth can worsen with everyday wear. It can even damage its opposite tooth when you bite and chew.
- Function: Living with a broken tooth can be uncomfortable. Pressure on the tooth can create pain that reaches the nerves. This pressure may also make it hard to eat comfortably.
- Aesthetics: This is the most common reason patients want to fix a broken tooth, especially in the front of the mouth. Fixing broken teeth can help improve your self-confidence and comfort around others.
How to Treat Broken Teeth in Bensalem, PA
Dental bonding is a cosmetic treatment that can add structure to chipped, cracked, and broken teeth. If you have broken pieces we need to reattach, we recommend bonding. Our office will color-match the resin bonding material to your natural teeth.
Dental crowns are caps that fully cover and protect teeth. We prefer using porcelain crowns for their durability and natural appearance. If you have an infected and broken tooth, we recommend root canal treatment to remove infected dental pulp. Then, we can cover the tooth with a crown.
As a last resort, we may recommend removing a broken tooth, whether in many pieces or with a break below the gum line. A crack in the tooth below the gum line, a break at the tooth roots, or an injury that separates the tooth may require extraction.
We will determine if we can rebuild your tooth structure and place a crown before recommending an extraction. However, if this is not viable, we will remove the tooth. We will ensure that you feel comfortable during the tooth removal process. Before treatment, we will numb your treated tooth or teeth so you do not feel any pain.
After you heal from tooth extraction treatment, we will recommend a restorative treatment to restore your tooth. If you have a single missing tooth, you will benefit from a single dental implant. We also provide bridges and dentures for multiple missing teeth.
Broken Teeth FAQs
Learn more about broken teeth with answers to these commonly asked questions:
Can you fix broken teeth at home?
No, you cannot fix your broken tooth at home. Immediately contact our dental office if you break a tooth. Do not try to fix your tooth on your own. You can damage your tooth and other teeth in your mouth.
Is a broken tooth a dental emergency?
A broken tooth is an emergency if it causes severe pain. Large tooth fractures or breaks in the tooth need emergency care. Small tooth chips or cracks are not emergencies. However, you must still make a dental appointment to treat minor cosmetic injuries.
Why doesn’t my broken tooth hurt?
Your broken tooth may not hurt if your dental injury does not reach the tooth’s nerves. While it may initially hurt, it may fade because your injury only affects the tooth structure. A broken tooth that exposes the nerves within the tooth will hurt more than a small break.
Do broken teeth grow back?
No, broken teeth do not grow back. However, we can rebuild your tooth structure with tooth-colored bonding material. You can also injure your broken teeth further, which is why you should not wait to treat broken teeth.
Why is my broken tooth grey?
A broken tooth can turn grey because of dental trauma. The small blood vessels in the tooth can burst after a hit to a tooth. A chip or crack in your tooth can also expose dentin, the layer beneath the tooth enamel. This will make your tooth appear darker. Also, if decay enters your broken tooth, it can affect the nerves and blood vessels that keep it alive. If these nerves die, the tooth’s color will change.
Can pain from a broken tooth spread to other teeth?
Yes. If you have a painful broken tooth, your pain can radiate to other teeth. This can happen if you have a broken and infected tooth. Harmful bacteria can spread throughout the mouth and infect other teeth.
Fix Broken Teeth Today
We repair broken teeth in Bensalem, PA, to help you get your smile back on track. Call Perfect Smiles of Bensalem for care at 215-770-1081. You can also schedule an appointment online.
Please let us know if you have questions about fixing a broken tooth. We will help you find the best treatment.