Does A Broken Tooth Need to Be Fixed Immediately?

You get a broken tooth when one of your teeth gets fractured, particularly the hardest enamel. Broken teeth, in most cases, happen when there are primary issues such as tooth decay, cracked, or chipped teeth.

A broken tooth is usually the result of an accident. Since we cannot prevent accidents, we cannot avoid sustaining a broken tooth once in a while. The accident may be personal, motor vehicle, or sport-related. If you have a broken tooth, you should seek a same-day emergency dentist.

Sunridge Dental Clinic provides emergency dentistry in Calgary, AB. You should receive emergency care to fix the broken tooth. Several steps follow to relieve pain and lower the probability of further injury to the tooth or oral tissues.

Interestingly, you do not require an appointment when it comes to true emergency to see a dentist in Northeast Calgary, AB, especially during emergencies such as a broken tooth. Although there are some home remedies, there is no way to fix the damage without visiting a dentist.

Treatment for a broken tooth usually depends on the extent of the damage. A single office visit usually fixes a slightly broken tooth, while a severely damaged tooth requires may lengthy procedure, and multiple visits.

What To Do When You Have A Broken Tooth?

Once you experience a broken tooth, you should see the dentist as soonest as possible. If you don’t, your tooth stands a chance to get damaged severely, leading to tooth extraction. To avoid heightening the problem, you should perform some self-care measures before arriving at the dentist. They include:

• Take some over-the-counter pain reliever like acetaminophen if the tooth is painful. Also, rinse your mouth with salty water.
• Apply clove oil to the painful spots on your gums to help numb the area around the broken or chipped tooth.
• If the broken tooth is on the front row, floss the other teeth to remove any particles trapped between your teeth to ensure no more extra pressure on the broken tooth.
• Cover the broken tooth with sugarless chewing gum or wax paraffin to prevent it from injuring your tongue, lip, or inner side of the cheeks if the broken tooth has sharp or jagged edges.
• Avoid eating. However, prioritize soft foods over hard foods to avoid biting down on the broken tooth if you must eat.

Once you arrive at a dental facility, the dentist determines the ideal treatment method depending on the severity of the break.

Dental Procedures for a Broken Tooth

• Cosmetic contouring

If the tooth has a minor break, the dentist polishes the surface, particularly the jagged edges. The polished tooth looks natural and healthy again.

• Dental bonding

Bonding is usually preferred when the affected tooth is on the front . The dentist uses tooth-colored composite resin to repair the tooth. The tooth is etched on the surface with a gel. Then the bonding material is applied and molded. The dentist shapes the material to resemble a natural tooth then hardens using ultraviolet light.

• Dental crown

A dental crown is when a large portion of the tooth has broken off. The dentist first files away from the tooth’s remaining part then cover it with a crown or a tooth-shaped cap. Some crowns are permanent since they are metal, porcelain, or zirconia.

• Root canal

A dentist may performs a root canal procedure if the fracture is ito the pulp of the tooth. A dentist at Sunridge Dental Clinic can performs a root canal, and then place crown to restored tooth back to it’s original shape and function. This procedure takes more than two appointments.

• Dental veneers

They are when the affected teeth are the front ones. They focus on the visual appeal of the tooth by making it look whole and healthy again. A dental veneer is a thin sheet of tooth-colored porcelain covering the entire front surface, with a thicker part replacing a broken piece of the tooth.

The dentist first removes roughly 0.3 – 1.2 millimeters of the tooth surface before placing veneers. They are bonded using a unique adhesive.