Oh no! You broke a tooth?? Now what?? Today Dr. Kuiper explains what options you have when a tooth breaks, and what you are risking by not having it evaluated ASAP!

Today we are going to talk about broken teeth and how we can help to get those fixed. Teeth break for a multitude of reasons. One of the most common reasons a tooth may break includes having a large filling done in the past. Any time you put a filling in a tooth, the filling will never be as strong as the original tooth and doesn’t truly strengthen the tooth. The tooth then becomes weaker but you’re still using that tooth as normal. The average person chews 5,000-10,000 times per year on each tooth with 700 lbs of pressure per bite. That’s a lot of wear and tear on a very small object. Eventually, part of the tooth may fracture or pop off. When that happens, we hope it is a simple fix with a filling or crown. If the pulp or nerve of the tooth is exposed, then there would be additional procedures needed to rebuild the tooth so that you could use it pain-free once it is fixed. Although it is rare, it is also possible to break the tooth in a way that the root of the tooth is split vertically, similarly to a log in a log splitter. Unfortunately in these circumstances it is not possible to keep the tooth and we would discuss several different replacement options with you.

At the end of the day, if you notice a tooth that is chipped, broken, or fractured, the important thing to remember is that we want you to come in and let us know about it right away. The reason we stress this point is that even small broken areas can very quickly become large cavities, leading to more pain, more visits with us, and more expense. So if you have any areas that are chipped or broken, please give us a call today so we can work with you to ensure your teeth last a lifetime! We would love to help you out before your symptoms become unmanageable.

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