Fix Cracked Teeth

Sometimes, seemingly without reason, teeth may crack. While it may not be immediately clear, there is a reason teeth crack, and there are also treatments for cracked teeth. As with any tooth breakage, prompt treatment is vital to the success of repairing a cracked tooth. The good news is, your dentist will have a way to repair your tooth if it has cracked in half. Teeth serve many functions, including the aesthetic purpose of giving you a beautiful smile. They are also mechanical powerhouses, bearing significant amounts of force with each piece of food that’s bitten into and chewed. This force will gradually wear on the teeth, but there are other forces that can have a more damaging effect. If, for example, you grind your teeth or clench your jaw, you may be putting excessive pressure on the bite surfaces of the teeth. You may also damage and weaken the teeth by biting into particularly hard foods, like candy or ice, or by habitually chewing on hard objects, like pen caps. Once the enamel on your tooth has sufficiently weakened, the tooth itself may crack. Because of the nerves and blood vessels that each tooth contains, these cracked teeth may become painful. In fact, some cracks in teeth are very small and can’t easily be seen, but they may make themselves known: if you feel sudden pain when your tooth is exposed to pressure or extreme temperature, you may have a cracked tooth. Some cracked teeth don’t cause pain but can still lead to damage if left untreated, which is one reason that regular dental checkups are so important.

If your tooth has cracked and you are aware of it, make sure to contact your dentist immediately to discuss treatment options. As with any broken tooth, a cracked tooth can lead to infection, which may spread into the bone and gums and may cause far greater damage to your health. If you are unable to see your dentist immediately, be sure to take extra care in your normal oral hygiene routine, brushing the cracked area gently with a soft-bristled brush. Keeping the area clean is important, but it’s just as important to be gentle while doing so. Once you are able to get in for an office visit, your dentist can assess the damage and weigh your treatment options with you. Treatment will depend largely on how significant the fracture may be. If just a small piece of enamel has chipped off the tooth, your dentist may be able to make this repair with a filling or with bonding material, or they may want to cover the tooth with a crown, protecting it from further damage. Sometimes, surgery is necessary, to remove the broken portion of the tooth, and other times, the crack may extend deep into the pulp, which will necessitate a root canal or full tooth extraction. Seeing your dentist promptly upon damaging your tooth could be instrumental to saving your tooth. And, whatever treatment is deemed necessary, seeing your dentist as soon as possible will help limit the cost and extent of treatment and should have you smiling painlessly again in no time.

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