Do You Know What to do if You Damage Your Teeth?
If you ask the average person, you will find that people, overwhelmingly, want to avoid damage to their teeth. This should come as no surprise considering the pain that is involved with damaging a tooth. Unfortunately, accidents are sometimes unavoidable when it comes to the mouth. Here at Boulder Dental Designs, we have helped people all over the Boulder area deal with damaged teeth and, through these experiences, we have seen just about every situation that you could think of. In today’s post, we are going to go over the steps that a person needs to take when they damage their teeth in order to make sure that additional damage is not caused to the mouth. Continue reading below to learn more.
How do Teeth Become Damaged
While it is true that teeth are remarkably strong given the amount of use they see throughout a person’s lifetime, they are not indestructible. Teeth can become damaged in several ways, including:
- Falling
- Being hit in the face
- Biting down on something too hard
- Tooth decay
When a tooth becomes damaged, such as a chip or crack, a person may not even feel any initial pain. While pain may not be present at first, we still recommend that you take the appropriate steps to fix the damaged tooth in order to make sure that the root of the tooth does not become compromised. Below, we have listed the steps you need to take when you crack or break one of your teeth.
Cracked Teeth
Unfortunately, there is no way to treat a cracked tooth at home. If you notice that one of your teeth is cracked, it is important that you contact us today at Boulder Dental Designs so we can make sure that the appropriate steps are taken to repair the tooth. When you come in to see us, we will ask a couple of questions. First, we will want to know how you cracked your teeth. Depending upon the manner in which you cracked your tooth, we may suggest different treatment options. Second, we will ask if you are experiencing any pain. If your tooth only hurts when exposed to different temperatures from the food you eat, that’s a better sign than if your tooth hurts all of the time. If you have chronic pain from a cracked tooth, it could mean that you have damaged your tooth’s root or the connecting nerves and blood vessels. Depending on the severity of your situation, we will either place a dental crown on the tooth or, in more extreme cases, replace the tooth altogether.
Broken Teeth
If you have broken one of your teeth or multiple teeth, it is imperative that you visit our Boulder dentist office. If you are unable to make it to a dentist office or it is going to be a few days or hours before the dentist is able to see you, it is important that you rinse your mouth out with warm water, apply gauze if there is any bleeding, and apply a cold pack to the outside of the mouth in order to reduce swelling. If the break is severe enough, covering the part of the tooth that is broken with dental cement (which can be found at most major drugstores) is a temporary solution that will help to ensure that less bacteria is able to make its way into the tooth. In the case of a broken tooth, it is most likely that a dental crown will be placed over the damaged tooth after it has been thoroughly cleaned. This will protect the tooth from further damage and, more importantly, will make sure that bacteria is unable to penetrate further into the tooth and damage the root. If the break is severe, extraction may be the only option. In this case, we will work with you to determine whether a dental bridge or dental implant is the next best step.
If you have damaged a tooth, please contact us today at Boulder Dental Designs. We will work with you to assess the level of damage that has occurred and formulate a treatment plan that will best suit your needs. Contact us today and let us help you make sure that your damaged tooth does not transform into a more serious oral health issue.
