4 Broken Tooth Repair Procedures—what should you expect?

It’s Saturday Night, you are minding your own business, watching Netflix and munching pretzels when you feel a rock between your teeth. Nothing hurts; you wash down the pretzels with Iced Tea. Something feels weird in your mouth; a jagged edge along your back tooth. You think “what the heck” but in the back of your mind you already know that you have a broken tooth. You play with the jagged edge with your tongue for the next few minutes and realize that you will be calling your dentist first thing Monday morning for a broken tooth repair.

Your 5 possibilities for Broken Tooth Repair (on Monday Morning) are:

Broken Tooth Repair: Possibility #1

You have chipped a piece of enamel off of your tooth. The broken tooth repair for this situation is simple. Your dentist will simply smooth and polish the enamel or he will place a tooth colored filling on the broken area to fill and protect the damaged tooth. Chipping is fairly common and this broken tooth is easy to repair.

Broken Tooth Repair: Possibility #2

You have a fractured old silver or tooth-colored filling. Over time, silver fillings or tooth colored fillings wear out. Eventually the filling thins out and becomes brittle. At this point the filling will fracture in half and a piece of the filling material will fall out. Your tongue will notice a hole in your tooth in the area of a previous filling. The broken tooth repair for this situation is fairly simple. In most circumstances, a new filling is all that is needed to restore the tooth back to its normal shaped and usefulness. Broken fillings are fairly common and this broken tooth is easy to repair.

Broken Tooth Repair: Possibility #3

You have fractured a cusp of your tooth. The cusp of a posterior tooth is the mountain peak of the tooth. Your back teeth have 2-4 cusps. Your tongue will notice a big chunk missing from one of your teeth. The broken tooth repair for this situation requires more attention. Depending on the extent of the fracture, a large filling, onlay, or crown will need to be needed to stabilize and support the tooth. Fractured Cusp in fairly common and this broken tooth is easy to repair.

Broken Tooth Repair: Possibility #4

You have a complete fracture and split the tooth. Your back teeth are called bicuspids and molars. They are multi-rooted teeth which mean they have 2 or 3 root forks which divide like tree roots. When you split a tooth down the middle, the fracture cracks all the way through the top of the tooth into the root fork area, causing the tooth to be spit in to two pieces. The broken tooth repair possibility for this situation is the most difficult. In most cases, the tooth pieces will need to be removed and an implant crown or a bridge will need to be preformed. In some instances, the broken part can be removed, and the remaining part can be saved by performing a root canal and a crown. Fortunately, the complete fracture of the tooth is rare and this broken tooth situation does not come up that often.

Broken teeth are a fact of life. Fortunately, most broken tooth repair areas are easy and simple to treat. If you find yourself spitting out a chunk of your tooth, don’t be alarmed. Simply save the broken piece in a zip lock, go see your dentist immediately and you will be fixed up and ready to face life in no time!

If you have a broken tooth or a dental emergency, make the switch to our Dr. Thomas L. Anderson and Associates! You will always get a warm welcome when you make an appointment at one of our three convenient locations. Call to make an appointment with our team today; we’ll get your broken tooth repaired and we can’t wait to meet you!