The fact is teeth sometimes break. Falling and hitting your head, grinding or clenching during sleep, or even from untreated cavities or decay are just a few of the many varied reasons why your teeth may be broken. But what would happen if you left your tooth broken? What happens if the damage is left untreated?
Damaged Teeth
Whilst it is always recommended to get teeth treated, the question as to why is usually left unanswered. There are plenty of reasons that have a significant impact on your health. All our teeth have nerves inside them. So, when a tooth breaks, that pain can be mild, annoying, or severe and unbearable.
Chewing can cause this pain to increase or sudden onset as well as drinking anything hot or cold, clenching at night, or simply the nerves’ exposure to irritants such as air, pollen, and food particles. What’s worse is if left untreated, the chance of infection greatly increases which could have greater consequences throughout your mouth and cause more teeth to need to be removed.
If damaged teeth are left untreated for a long time, many issues will persist. You may begin experiencing bone loss in your mandible or maxilla, commonly known as the lower and upper jaw. Or the bones may shift causing deformities that could lead to different joint and muscle-skeletal disorders. You can even lose more teeth if the initial site gets infected or inflamed and that spreads to surrounding teeth.
What To Do When You Break a Tooth
Now that you know the problems with broken teeth, what do you do? Well, contact a dentist (we’ll get to that part later). But in the meantime, there are a few things you can be doing to help alleviate some of the pain and prevent further issues.
One option is to rinse your mouth with lukewarm water. This will help keep the area clean from bacteria and infection that may creep in. If there is blood, apply gauze or tea bags to the region to prevent further bleeding. Applying a cold pack to the outside of your mouth on your cheek near the tooth may help prevent swelling and inflammation. Also, taking over-the-counter painkillers in appropriate dosage amounts may help reduce the amount of overall pain you are in.
When it comes to contacting a dentist though, Dr. Aaron Vickers has years of experience in helping patients with broken teeth. He has helped repair damaged teeth, removed rotten teeth, and performed a few procedures to help restore your bite line and keep your mouth healthy. Dr. Vickers’s background as both a physician and a dentist means he can provide expert holistic advice in treating and maintaining a healthy mouth and prevent further issues from occurring.
Contact Us!
If you are within the Flower Mound or Denton areas in Texas, we are ready to help restore your broken teeth! Consider contacting us at (469) 498-2080 for our office in Flower Mound, TX or at (940) 301-3250 for our office in Denton, TX. Or click here to fill out an online web form. Let our doctors, Dr. Aaron Vickers and Dr. Tamir Anver, help fix your broken teeth and keep your mouth happy and healthy!