No doubt if you have a piece of tooth break off, it is likely very concerning. However, though a broken tooth is something you should get taken care of right away, it is important to be calm and to understand what to do if this happens in order to help you have the best outcome. Once the immediate situation is remedied, it is also important to understand how the tooth might have broken to help avoid the problem in the future.
Why do teeth break?
There are several reasons that can explain why teeth break. Caries (or cavities), for example, are one of these reasons teeth break and also one of the most common oral diseases. Caries can weaken the teeth to the point of breakage. If there are untreated cavities in your teeth, they are more likelly to be painful and to break. They can be treated through tooth restoration, however, in some cases it may be necessary to make more complex interventions, such as root canal treatment or tooth extraction.
Bad positioning of the dental arch and bruxism are also common causes associated with tooth breakage as well. In the case of bruxism, which is a dysfunction that causes teeth to grind or clench, in addition to the risk of breaking teeth, it can cause more serious problems in the mandibular joints (TMJ). The pressure and force put on your teeth if you have bruxism is the reason for breakage, so if you experience this condition, you should speak to your dentist, and they will suggest ways to alleviate this condition and prevent breakage and TMJ.
Another common cause associated with broken teeth is impacts. Falls, domestic and car accidents are common situations that can cause teeth to break, generating the need for professional intervention as soon as possible after you know the break has occurred.
Signs that your tooth may be broken
While in some situations it may be obvious that a tooth has fractured or broken, in others it can be difficult to tell that the tooth is broken. If you are in doubt, watch for any of these symptoms:
* pains during or after chewing
* flaws or cracks in the tooth
* swelling or inflammation around the tooth
If you experience one or more of the symptoms described above, it could be a sign that your tooth is broken. In that case, you need to seek help from a professional.
What to do if you have broken a tooth
You broke a tooth, now what? The first tip is: keep calm! At the time, you might even get scared, but there's no problem that can't be solved with the help of a professional. So, please follow the tips below:
* Look for the broken piece
* Once you identify the broken tooth, look for the broken piece
* Wash the tooth gently with lukewarm water and, if possible, leave it inside the mouth, this increases the chances of making the reimplantation viable, in case it has suffered a total loss. Remember that reimplantation is only possible if it happens within one hour after the accident.
* If you have only lost a piece, wash it with very gently, making sure to keep any tissue that might still be on it, and soak it in milk, saline solution, or only if either of those aren’t available, water.