Every Broken Tooth Is a Dental Emergency

If you break a tooth, you need to call your dentist. It may seem like that small chip on your front tooth or damage to a filling isn’t a big deal and it can wait, but the reality is that it should not wait. A broken tooth is a cosmetic and functional problem, as well as a threat to your overall oral health.

Causes of a Broken Tooth

There are plenty of ways that teeth can get broken. Your tooth enamel is incredibly strong, but if it gets hit the wrong way or is stressed too much in the same area for tooth long, a break is inevitable. Some of the most common causes of a broken tooth include:

• Blow to the mouth: If you are in a car accident, get hit with a ball or by someone else in a sporting match, or take any other blow to the mouth, it can crack and break your tooth.
• Fall: Unfortunately, sometimes when a person falls their face hits the ground before their hands do, and this can lead to a broken tooth.
• Teeth grinding: Teeth are powerful and they are only meant to gnash food, not rub against each other. A teeth-grinding habit can easily lead to broken teeth.
• Deteriorating dental work: Even the strongest dental work needs to be replaced over time but if this restoration doesn’t occur soon enough, the tooth in which a filling or porcelain crown resides could break as a result.
• Biting down wrong: If you use your teeth as a tool or bite down on a hard candy the wrong way, you could easily damage a tooth.

Restorations for a Broken Tooth

The great news for anyone who suffers from a broken tooth is that there are multiple solutions for repairing the problem, which means both your comfort level and budget can be satisfied. Depending on the severity and location of your broken tooth, your dentist may recommend one of the following restorations:

• Tooth-colored filling: If you have a minor break, a tooth-colored filling may be the best solution. It prevents food particles and bacteria from getting inside and causing an infection.
• Porcelain crown: A tooth that is so severely damaged it cannot be corrected successfully with a filling will benefit from a crown which caps the entire tooth.
• Porcelain veneer: All broken teeth need a cosmetic and functional restoration, but none more so than a front tooth. In cases like these, a porcelain veneer may be the best final repair.
• Extraction: Your dentist will do everything possible to save a broken tooth but, sometimes, a tooth is so damaged there is no alternative but to extract it.

Get Help for Your Broken Tooth Right Away

If you have a broken tooth, don’t wait to have it treated. Contact Healdsburg Dental Spa in Healdsburg, CA, to find out if you need to be seen right away. We take every dental concern seriously and are prepared to help you find relief, ease your worries, and get your smile back to good working order. Dental emergencies are never convenient, but we try to make treatment as convenient as possible.