Cracked Tooth If the crack has extended into the pulp, the tooth can be treated with a root canal procedure and a crown to protect the crack from spreading. However, if the crack extends below the gum line, it is no longer treatable, and the tooth cannot be saved and will need to be extracted.
If a molar is only half-broken, it can usually be fixed in one of two ways. If the break is relatively minor and the edges are still intact, your dentist may be able to bond the broken pieces back together. If the damage is more severe, they may need to use a dental crown or filling material to cover the break.
Damaged teeth that are still firmly in place in the gums with a sufficient portion of healthy and strong tooth material can be repaired using a wide variety of techniques. Replacing a chipped portion of tooth or filling in a crack in the tooth can often be done using a strong dental bonding material.
A broken or cracked tooth treatment does not always need to be an extraction procedure. Sometimes the dentist may recommend alternative reparative solutions like root canal therapy.
Treatments for a chipped, broken or cracked tooth include: gluing the fragment of tooth back on. a filling or a crown (a cap that completely covers the broken tooth) root canal treatment for a badly broken tooth where the nerves are exposed.
If a tiny portion of your tooth is broken, the dentist might recommend protecting the remaining portion of the tooth with dental fillings or a dental crown. If you have a severe fracture, the dentist offers endodontic surgery to eliminate the fractured portion to protect the dental pulp in the tooth.
However, if a tooth is severely damaged, your dentist may not be able to save it. In these cases, they will normally recommend that the tooth be removed. Dentists may recommend removal in the following circumstances: Dental injury resulting in a cracked or fractured tooth or root.
In some cases, biting on something hard, like a nut shell or bone has caused the fracture. In other cases, normal chewing finally breaks off a portion of the tooth. If you experience a broken tooth, you should see a dentist soon.
Patients who have a severely broken tooth are advised to see a dentist within a day of the injury occurring. If that is not possible, the patient should use dental cement to cover up the broken tooth while waiting for an appointment.
Bonding: Dental bonding and filling are also options for treating a cracked or broken tooth. In circumstances where bonding isn't possible, a veneer is sometimes used to cover the surface of the tooth. Crowns: In some cases, an artificial or partial crown is used to repair a broken tooth.
You can still brush a broken tooth, but you should be gentle and very careful while doing so. Brushing too hard could cause pain or further damage to the tooth, especially if the nerves on the inside of the tooth are exposed. Flossing around a damaged tooth may help to reduce pain or pressure on the broken tooth.
As you can see, dental crowns are highly versatile in terms of how much tooth is needed for their placement. They can be placed when as much as ¾ of the natural tooth has been damaged or decayed, and can also be placed when the tooth is lacking both external and internal support.
Benefits of saving a natural tooth
When possible, saving your natural teeth is the best option. While today's dental prosthetics are made to last, they simply don't have the same strength as natural teeth. Not only are natural teeth stronger, but they also offer better functionality than prosthetics or crowns.
Dental bonding is typically the least expensive, quickest, and easiest way to repair a chipped tooth, with veneers being next. Crowns are used for more extensively chipped or broken teeth when the entire top needs to be replaced. Dental implants are required when the entire tooth needs to be replaced.
Damage below the gumline – A severe crack or split below your gumline may make it impossible for a dentist to save the tooth. Severe trauma – Fractured tooth roots or extensive damage may make it challenging for a dentist to save your tooth.
Damaged roots or loss of bone around the tooth are among the most common situations where a tooth can't be saved and needs to be extracted. If that's the case, we will strongly recommend removing the tooth.
To Repair A Cracked, Chipped Or Broken Tooth
While minor chips can sometimes be repaired with cosmetic treatments like veneers or dental bonding, major tooth damage almost always requires a dental crown.
Absolutely! If you are missing one or more teeth the two most common options are dental implants or partial dentures. When choosing whether to get a dental implant or a removable partial denture for one tooth, it is always best to get the professional advice of your dental prosthetist.
Post-and-core foundation – If the natural tooth is not stable enough to support a crown, a metal post may be used to help hold the crown in place. With this treatment, the decayed part of the tooth is cleaned out. Then, a metal post is cemented into the root of the tooth, and a crown is placed on top of it.
After the tooth is numbed, it must be shaped, where some of the tooth structure must be “trimmed” away. Typically, for front teeth, 63 to 73 percent of the teeth are trimmed away, while the range is 67 to 75 percent for the back teeth.
It is preferable to preserve your teeth rather than remove them. This is because natural teeth function better than artificial ones. Additionally, removing your teeth leads to other problems like bone deterioration. Teeth crowns are better than extractions because they preserve the root of the teeth.
Don't Eat or Drink Unless Necessary
But if at all possible, you should at least avoid solid foods, sugary or acidic foods and beverages, and anything that's hot or cold. These types of foods are more likely to increase the pain. Any pressure on the damaged tooth can also worsen breakage.
If you break or chip a tooth, one of the possibilities is that you only damage the enamel layer. This means that you might not compromise the dentin layer, which protects the sensitive pulp. In that case, it's possible not to feel pain or only feel a mild toothache.