Half My Tooth Broke Off
If you’ve ever broken a tooth, you know how upsetting and uncomfortable it can be. Sometimes, teeth fracture because of injuries or accidents, and other times, a tooth might break or crack due to simple wear and tear. A cracked tooth won’t repair itself, but dentists know many different ways to repair broken teeth and help keep them protected so they don’t break again. If you think you’ve cracked a tooth, make an appointment with your dentist. If half your tooth breaks off and you’re in pain, try to get to a dentist as soon as possible, and if you’ve sustained a significant injury that has affected your teeth and other parts of your face or body, seek immediate medical attention. In many cases, a tooth might crack or break and it won’t cause any pain, but these cracks can worsen over time. If a piece of your tooth breaks off, prompt attention can restore your smile and your comfort in no time.
It’s common for people to crack their teeth, especially in the front of the mouth, during contact sports, and teeth also break when people try to use them as tools; while durable, dental enamel is designed to protect the teeth from the forces of biting and chewing food, not tearing packaging or opening bottles. Clenching and grinding the teeth can also weaken the dental enamel and lead to teeth that break or crack more easily, and habitually chewing on ice, candy, or other hard objects, like pens, can cause the teeth to break. Unfortunately, it’s also common for people’s teeth to weaken as they age, making broken teeth more common among aging people.
If your tooth breaks, call your dentist right away and clearly explain what’s happened. Tell them that half your tooth has broken off, and describe the area and symptoms. They’ll work with you to make sure you get prompt attention. While you wait to see your dentist, make sure to continue your oral hygiene routine, brushing and flossing your teeth regularly and taking care to brush the broken tooth gently. You may want to use dental wax or sugarless gum to protect your tongue and oral tissues from the tooth’s broken edges, too. It’s important to treat a broken tooth right away to prevent the pulp that keeps the tooth alive from becoming infected by bacteria that enter through the crack. Infections that start in the dental pulp can enter the bloodstream and spread to the adjacent areas of the head and neck, but infected pulp can often be treated with a routine procedure called a root canal. The root canal treatment removes infected pulp and disinfects and repairs the interior of the tooth, and, once the infection is eliminated, the tooth can be restored cosmetically. If the crack is very severe, or if infection is extensive, the tooth may need to be extracted. However, when a broken tooth is less severe and no infection is present, cosmetic restoration can commence promptly and you can be on your way to the healthy smile you remember.