What are the most common types of damaged teeth?
The most common damaged teeth that a dentist sees are cracked, chipped, and broken teeth. Those are what usually come up, and the patient also becomes aware of them when it happens, as opposed to all of a sudden not feeling a thing until something is broken.
What causes a chipped, broken, or damaged tooth?
There are a lot of causes for chipped, broken, or damaged teeth. One is decay. That weakens the tooth, like say, for example, the chewing surface. Even though it's just a pinpoint decay, it can get bigger on the inside.
The other one is that there are cases when you have what we call hypocalification on the teeth. They tend to be softer. You can see a whitish mark on the teeth that have it. What it means is there's not enough calcium deposited in that area, and it's softer than healthy teeth, and that can easily get decayed as well.
Also, you can crack a tooth by biting on something hard. I've seen a lot of cases where even fruit seeds, like guava, can crack a tooth all through from the top all the way to the roots. Also, when you have a fall and you hit your face somewhere, you can break a tooth in some cases like this as well. I highly recommend kids or folks who are involved in sports to wear a mouth guard.
What should you do if you have a chip or broken tooth?
When someone has a chipped or broken tooth, the only recommendation that I would say is do not bite on it at this time, but go to the dentist as soon as possible to have it checked before it can get worse. That's when it's taking place while the tooth is still in the mouth.
What are the treatment options for a chipped or cracked tooth?
There are a lot of treatment options for a chipped tooth. It depends on how big the chip is. If the chip is small enough, we can put a filling, or we can do a veneer. If the chip is big enough that there is not much tooth structure left, then we definitely go for a full crown.
When would a dentist recommend a crown for a chipped tooth?
A dentist would recommend a crown for a chipped tooth, like I said, when there's a lot of tooth structure that's already broken, chipped, or fractured, and there's not much tooth structure left to hold a filling. I highly recommend a crown in that case when there's also a missing cusp on a tooth. Let's say, for example, what we call a bicuspid or premolar. There are two cusps on it. When one of those is already missing, you definitely need a crown because most of it is gone. It's like half of the crown of the tooth is gone. Definitely, you're going to need a crown.
Can a cracked tooth be fixed by a dental crown?
A cracked tooth can be fixed with a crown. It depends on how it is cracked. Does it involve the nerve? If that involves the nerve, then you will need to have a root canal done first before we put in a crown.
Do you recommend home kits or temporary repair kits for a cracked tooth?
Unfortunately, I don't see those home kits or temporary repair kits that are available in the market as something that would help. I do not recommend them. I would definitely highly recommend that they see a dentist as soon as possible because I don't see anything in the market that is helpful at all.
What symptoms indicate a serious issue with a cracked tooth?
The one symptom that will indicate a serious issue with a cracked tooth is, first, when they bite down. Does it hurt? You definitely need to have a crown done on it. The other thing is, when you bite down, does it initiate any pain? That also might involve the nerve in that scenario. Those are the things, and also when they have sensitivity to that tooth. As long as it involves any pain, it doesn't matter the level of it, that has to be checked right away.
Is it possible to crack a tooth in half with no pain?
It is possible to crack a tooth in half with no pain. The reason behind it is that the tooth probably had a root canal done on it, so the tooth is pretty much dead, or the tooth had trauma, and then eventually the tooth died and was not able to recover from that trauma. The tooth was already dead when it cracked, and you won't have pain on that even if you cracked it.
When is a badly broken tooth no longer salvageable?
A tooth that is badly broken can be noticed as not savable anymore when the crack involves the roots already, or when the dentist does an examination and there is decay on the roots, and also if there is too much infection that the dental X-ray shows cannot be treated anymore by just doing a root canal. Basically, that tooth is not salvageable.
Another thing is when there is also mobility, that's not savable anymore. Not only when it's broken down, but when the tooth is not salvageable because it involves the root already, or if the tooth is compromised by a gum infection, it cannot be saved anymore. That definitely needs an extraction.
Can a cracked tooth still be saved?
You can also save a tooth that's cracked by doing what we call crown lengthening, wherein you have enough tooth structure to be able to put in a crown. But if it already involves the roots, then the nice thing about it is that the dentist will be able to tell if the tooth is savable or not.
What is your advice about tooth home repair kits, and when should someone see a dentist?
I don't know of anything helpful in home repair kits, and I don't recommend them, but I highly recommend seeing a dentist right away, and our office would gladly get you in for a free consultation.
There are some cases that I've seen in my office wherein a patient lost a dental crown. He tried to use one of those kits that day, got it at the store, and tried to put it back on, but he was not able to do it correctly. So his bite was off. The rest of the teeth were not touching, only that crown. Then I had to take the crown out and give him a new one. So that becomes more expensive. Whereas if he had just come to the office, I may have been able to recement that crown back for him instead. But of course, that's why it's better to have it checked by a dentist rather than do it yourself.
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