You experience a cracked tooth when something damages your tooth, resulting in a fracture. The teeth can crack in many ways, and depending on the form of the crack, it can be severe or not. Irrespective of the type of crack, it is wise to visit a dentist, even when you are asymptomatic; the crack can allow bacteria to enter the sensitive inner parts of the tooth, leading to gum disease, tooth loss, tooth abscesses, and infections. The skilled dentist at Agoura Hills Advanced Dentistry can examine your tooth, discuss the crack with you, and recommend the best treatment option based on the severity of the broken tooth.
Defining a Fractured Tooth
Also known as a cracked tooth or cracked tooth syndrome (CTS), a fractured tooth happens when something damages the tooth, causing a fracture or crack. Sometimes, the crack can be so tiny that it does not impact the tooth. Other times, the tooth can break into pieces. A severely fractured tooth can be a dental emergency.
Although any tooth can fracture, fractures are more common in mandibular molars and premolars (teeth in the back of the lower jaw) and upper front teeth when trauma is involved.
Different Categories of Broken Teeth
The various forms of fractures include the following:
Cracked Tooth
A cracked tooth can extend from your tooth’s biting surface to your gum. The dentist can recommend tooth extraction if your crack is severe, extending to your tooth’s root. The dentist may recommend additional treatments such as root canal therapy or the placement of a dental crown. Seeking early medical intervention can safeguard your cracked tooth from decay.
Broken Cusp
These breaks impact the cusps or chewing surfaces of the teeth. Generally, they neither affect the pulp nor cause minimal pain. Your dentist can repair the damage and restore your tooth’s shape using a dental crown.
Minor Cracks
They are hair-like cracks that manifest on the tooth’s surface. Minor cracks affect only the enamel layer and typically do not cause pain.
Since the cracks are very shallow, they do not need any substantial treatment. Your dental professional will only smoothen the enamel before treating minor cracks.
Vertical Root Fracture
Unlike other tooth fractures, the vertical tooth fracture can extend from the tooth’s root to the biting surface. Detecting a vertical root fracture in its early stages is difficult because it originates deep within the root, often without visible symptoms. You can only know of the crack if your nearby tissues become inflamed or infected. Furthermore, the infection or inflammation can cause pain.
Dentists generally extract the impacted tooth.
Split Tooth
A split tooth can occur due to substantial tooth trauma that separates it into two. The split could also begin like a crack and become a split. The split runs to the jawline, impacting your tooth’s root.
If the split is significant, your dental professional can extract your tooth.
Breaks Caused by Cavities or Decay
Cavities weaken the tooth from the inside and cause it to be susceptible to fracture. If your cavity is extensive, the dentist can extract your tooth. However, if the decay is not severe, your dentist can remove the decayed tissue, clean the tooth, and then fill the tooth using a dental filling.
Severe Tooth Breakages
A serious break is the most severe form of a broken tooth. The break may extend deep and expose the nerve endings of your tooth. Generally, it can be painful and cause bleeding.
The dental professional can recommend tooth removal. Nevertheless, they will examine you before the extraction to ascertain if another remedy would suffice. If the dental professional decides to save your tooth, they can conduct a root canal, which involves the removal of any exposed nerve. Finally, the dentist can restore the damaged tooth using a dental crown. The dental crown helps you bite and chew effectively.
Symptoms of a Fractured Tooth
Sometimes, a cracked tooth can be challenging to diagnose, especially if the crack is almost invisible. However, there are specific signs that could indicate that you have a fractured tooth, including the following:
Pain When Chewing
A fractured tooth might not hurt until you chew or bite on something hard and feel pain. It may not always be obvious which exact tooth it is, but you can narrow it down to the particular area of your mouth to make it easier to locate.
Infrequent Toothache
A toothache that comes and goes is the most common symptom of a fractured tooth. You may experience intermittent pain that subsides and then returns. A broken tooth causes infrequent pain because the nerves in your tooth can be exposed due to the crack, but the pain decreases unless there is a trigger or infection.
Unexplainable Pain
It could be a fractured tooth if you experience unusual pain in your teeth or gums that is challenging to pinpoint or identify. The pain is not always centered in a particular area but extensively affects either side of your mouth. There is no known cause for the pain.
Swollen Gums
A fractured tooth can contract an infection. Suppose bacteria enter your tooth through the crack and infect the pulp (the soft tissue inside your tooth). In that case, it can result in swelling of the surrounding gum tissue, making it tender.
Moreover, it can cause your gums to develop abscesses or bumps.
Extreme Sensitivity
Sometimes, a fractured tooth can cause sensitivity instead of pain. If heat, cold, or sugar causes your tooth to twinge, there is a chance that it has a crack, though it might be invisible. Sensitivity occurs due to the fracture exposing the tooth’s nerves, which the tooth’s enamel could otherwise safeguard.
What Causes Broken Teeth?
Like all bones in your body, your teeth can crack. Cracked teeth are a typical dental issue, and there are numerous ways that they can happen, including the following:
Genetic Factors
Some tooth issues are genetic. Like most aspects of your body, tooth strength is unique for everyone. There is a range of strengths in dentin and enamel. At the extreme weak end, there are genetic issues that weaken teeth. Amelogenesis imperfecta is a genetic issue where the enamel fails to form correctly; patients with amelogenesis imperfecta have small, brown or yellow teeth that are vulnerable to breakage, damage, and dental sensitivity. On the other hand, dentinogenesis imperfecta is when the dentin fails to develop appropriately, leading to translucent, discolored, or greyish-blue teeth that are brittle and vulnerable to breakage, chipping, and wear.
Some Medications and Drugs
If you have several fractured teeth, consider checking the side effects of the medications. Some drugs cause dry mouth, while others make it challenging for the body to absorb calcium.
If your medication causes your fractured tooth, consult your dentist for different dosages, tips to handle the related risks, or alternative medications.
Sugary and Acidic Foods and Beverages
While tooth enamel is hard and strong, it weakens when attacked by acidic substances. Eating acidic foods or drinking acidic beverages can damage the teeth.
Sugary foods and drinks also cause damage since they feed bacteria that produce acids. The bacteria cling to the tooth, putting the acid on the teeth and causing cavities.
Poor Dental Health Hygiene
Failing to floss and brush your teeth daily can cause acidic damage to teeth and weaken them.
Brushing too hard or too often can also erode the enamel. To circumvent damaging the enamel, you can consider doing the following:
- Using an electric toothbrush with a pressure sensor that warns you
- Using a less abrasive toothpaste
- Consulting a dentist who can assist you in finding a balance with dental health hygiene.
Teeth Grinding
Grinding and clenching your teeth could stress the enamel, resulting in its erosion.
Bite Challenges
Chewing and biting forces should be balanced in the mouth. Nevertheless, if you have temporomandibular joint dysfunction-related bite challenges, the bite can exert pressure on specific teeth, leading to cracks and chips.
Your teeth are also susceptible to breakage if you have crooked teeth that cause uneven bite forces.
Dry Mouth and Dehydration
Saliva protects your teeth in many ways, including the following:
- It has antibacterial characteristics that lower the amount of dangerous bacteria in the mouth
- It neutralised acid, lowering the effects of acidic drinks and foods on the teeth
- It has minerals that strengthen teeth
Nutritional Deficiency
The body requires essential nutrients to maintain your teeth. You need adequate calcium and vitamins. Vitamins facilitate the body’s absorption of calcium. These vitamins include vitamins K and D.
You Have Many Metal Tooth Fillings
Although tooth fillings safeguard your teeth, they are not as effective as natural tooth material. Your teeth are more vulnerable to breaking and weaker when you have many metal fillings.
The fillings contract and expand differently from your teeth. That means when you eat hot foods or drink hot beverages, your fillings expand faster than the teeth, exerting pressure on them. It can cause cracks that lead to the teeth breaking.
Self-Care and Prevention
Although you cannot treat your broken teeth at home, you can prevent them from occurring.
Strong teeth are less vulnerable to cracks, so practice proper oral hygiene. It can involve brushing your teeth twice daily, flossing once daily, avoiding chewing on hard objects, and making regular dental visits. Consider wearing a night guard if you play contact sports or grind your teeth while asleep.
If you believe you have a broken tooth, rinse your mouth using warm water and use a cold compress on the outside of your cheek to prevent swelling. You can also take anti-inflammatory painkillers, including ibuprofen, to reduce pain and swelling. Finally, plan to visit your emergency dentist immediately; delaying medical intervention can put your oral health at greater risk.
How Dentists Diagnose Broken Teeth
When diagnosing a broken tooth, your dentist will inquire about your signs and symptoms and potential causes. Next, they will do the following:
- Request you to bite down on something to check whether you feel pain
- Check the tooth for signs of cracks, among other damage
- Examine gums for inflammation: a vertical fracture can irritate the gums
- Pass a light through the tooth to illuminate your crack
- Stain the tooth using a dye to see the crack better
- Perform a diagnostic test to see fractures and other related issues, like bone loss
- Use a periodontal probe (a small instrument that measures bone loss around the tooth) to find your crack.
Why You Should Not Ignore Your Cracked Tooth
A fractured tooth can allow bacteria to reach the pulp, potentially leading to a tooth abscess, which, if left untreated, can spread to the jawbone. It can also spread to tendons, fat cells, and facial muscles in the neck and face.
Treating Your Broken Tooth
Deciding how to repair your broken tooth requires consulting a dentist who will determine the degree of the damage and recommend the best treatment option. Making a wise judgment regarding your oral health requires understanding the procedures and expectations throughout your restoration process.
Your dentist can perform a thorough examination that involves visual inspections and diagnostic techniques to identify the severity of your tooth fracture and whether you have a cavity. The finding will lead to the development of an individualized treatment plan.
Common treatment options include the following:
- Tooth fillings — Your dentist will use a material, like porcelain, composite resin, or amalgam, to fill in the crack. After filling the crack, the dentist will use a curing light to harden the material if they used resin composite. Finally, they will polish every rough edge and check whether your bite feels normal.
- Tooth bonding — Dental bonding is a restorative option that entails applying a tooth-colored composite resin to the surface of the cracked tooth and bonding it in place. Your dentist can recommend tooth bonding if your crack is minor and does not extend to the deep tooth layers. The procedure’s benefits are that dentists complete it in one appointment, and it offers cosmetic advantages since the bonding material resembles your natural teeth.
- Dental crown — A crown is a cap placed over your existing tooth, encompassing its visible part above your gum line. The protection protects your tooth’s integrity, ensuring that a tiny crack does not become a more severe issue requiring expensive treatment like tooth extraction. The crown also restores your tooth’s lost function, permitting you to bite, smile, and chew.
- Dental implants — When your tooth cracks beyond repair, dental implants provide a reliable restorative solution after your dentist extracts your cracked tooth. A dental implant has a titanium post, a crown, and an abutment. The titanium post is a replacement root that integrates with your jawbone through osseointegration. The abutment connects the post to the crown (the visible tooth part). The benefits of using a dental implant for your severely cracked tooth include preventing bone loss, restoring tooth functionality, and enhancing aesthetic appeal.
- Extraction — if the crack in your tooth has severely damaged your tooth nerves and root, your dentist can recommend extracting the tooth. They can replace the tooth later with a dental implant or bridge.
- Root canal — A fractured tooth that goes into the tooth pulp can result in infections. Your dentist can perform a root canal to remove the infected pulp.
How to Manage Symptoms Before Your Dental Appointment
If you sustained injuries that led to your fractured tooth, you should do the following immediately:
- If a fragment has come off, find it and wrap it in wet gauze. Carry it to your dentist; they can reattach it.
- Rinse the mouth using warm water or warm salty water. It will remove food particles and prevent infections.
- Use a cold compress on the area (against the outside of your cheek) to reduce inflammation.
- Do not chew on that side of the mouth.
- If your crack has sharp edges that irritate your cheeks or tongue, cover the area with orthodontic wax, which you may purchase from a pharmacy.
- Finally, schedule an appointment with a skilled dentist.
You can take over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen. However, do not exceed the recommended dosage. Avoid putting aspirin directly on the gums since it can burn your tissue. If you take any drugs before seeing your dentist, notify them during your consultation; it can impact their treatment recommendation.
What is the Cost of Treating Your Broken Tooth?
The cost of treating your fractured tooth depends on the factors below:
- Type and degree of damage — Broken teeth can be structural or superficial. A superficial crack in the enamel is an aesthetic issue that your dentist can address using veneers or bonding. Conversely, deep fractures can extend into the pulp or dentin, requiring restorative treatment like dental crowns or a root canal.
- Your treatment option — You can expect to pay $250 for a tooth extraction, $2,000 for a root canal, $1,500 per dental crown, and $1,000 for tooth bonding.
Find an Emergency Dentist Near Me
Dental trauma, ageing, biting on hard foods, and bruxism can all cause a fractured tooth. Even a small crack can cause symptoms like pain when chewing or biting, sensitivity to cold or hot foods and beverages, and discomfort. The seriousness and location of the cracked tooth determine the most effective treatment option. Agoura Hills Advanced Dentistry can save your tooth by removing the inflamed or infected pulp tissue, provided the crack has not reached below your gum line. After saving the tooth, our qualified dentist can repair the structural tooth damage using a dental restoration, which can restore the affected tooth’s functionality and improve its aesthetics. Please call us at 818-878-7300 to schedule an appointment to learn how we can help you.