What Happens if you Leave a Broken Tooth?
While not every broken tooth is a dental emergency, it’s important not to leave a broken tooth alone for long. Even when a cracked or fractured tooth isn’t causing any pain or discomfort, damage in the enamel of a tooth can increase the risk of other, more serious issues. For example, if bacteria from food debris enter the crack in a tooth, infection can develop and the teeth will decay more rapidly. When infection enters into these areas of decay, it can create painful abscesses, which are infected sacs of dental plaque, pus, and bacteria that collect inside the teeth. When a tooth is infected, the teeth adjacent to that tooth are more likely to become infected, and, if infection is allowed to proliferate unchecked, it can even enter into the bloodstream and cause possibly severe health complications. While not every broken tooth becomes infected, promptly treating a broken tooth is the most surefire way to prevent infection from entering the tooth in the first place. Immediate solutions include capping the damaged tooth with a temporary crown, and longer-term solutions might include root canal therapies to eliminate infection, or even extracting the damaged tooth or teeth.
The teeth can break both above and below the gumline, affecting the crown of the tooth, the root of the tooth, or both. Vertical root fractures start in the root of a tooth, beneath the gums, and travel upward toward the biting surface of the tooth. While these fractures may not cause symptoms, they increase the possibility of infection in the tooth, and infection causes immensely unpleasant symptoms that could even be life-threatening if left unaddressed. A tooth can crack the other way, too, from the top down; this is called a split tooth, and it’s just what it sounds like; it splits the tooth in two parts. When the area around a dental filling develops a crack, it’s called a fractured cusp. Any of these breaks can occur in weakened teeth and allow infection to enter.
Although dental enamel is incredibly durable, it can wear down over time. There are no nerve endings in dental enamel, so this happens undetected. As the enamel weakens, the teeth become more susceptible to breaking and cracking. These cracks can be as minor as an insignificant chip or hairline crack, or they can be as major as a crack that leaves the vital pulp inside the tooth exposed to the elements. More serious breaks are painful, interfering with everyday life, and should be addressed as soon as possible. Even minor cracks increase the risk of bacteria entering the dental pulp, however, and should be monitored for progression and sealed or otherwise treated before they cause problems. When bacteria enter cracks in the teeth, you may feel increased sensitivity to extremely hot or cold foods or drinks, and you may feel pain or discomfort in the teeth, which may appear discolored. If the gums around the tooth appear swollen, or if you feel sporadic pain or pain while chewing, see your dentist for dental work. Ideally, you’ll see your dentist for regular checkups, and with their careful monitoring, minor dental cracks will be repaired before any of these symptoms arise.