If you have a chipped, cracked, or broken tooth, your main concern might be about how it’s affected your smile. But aesthetics aside, your tooth could require urgent dental treatment to protect it from further harm. Schedule an appointment with your dentist in Richardson, TX, to assess the extent of the damage and get advice on how to restore your appearance. For small chips, a simple polish might be enough, but for serious chips or cracks that expose the inner part of your tooth, you might need more extensive treatments such as root canal therapy.1 Read on to learn more about how a root canal can protect damaged teeth.
Tooth damage
Damage to teeth can be caused in various ways, from falls to accidents, biting too hard into food, or grinding your teeth. If a piece of your tooth has broken off, hang on to it and take it to the dentist to see if it can be reattached.2 Store the tooth fragment in milk or saliva until your appointment, as this moisture enables the fragment to bond more strongly with your remaining natural tooth if your dentist can reattach it.3
Assessing damaged teeth
During your appointment, your dentist will inspect your tooth and other teeth in case there are any additional chips or cracks that you haven’t noticed. They might take X-rays to see if there is any further damage underneath your gums that’s not visible to the naked eye. They’re looking for any breaks in your enamel, the outermost layer of your tooth.4
Types of tooth damage
Once inspecting your mouth, your dentist can identify which type of damage your tooth has:5
- Craze lines – a shallow crack that doesn’t cause any pain and does not require any additional treatment.
- Chipped tooth – a broken-off piece of the top of your tooth, which only typically requires treatment if it’s exposed the pulp inside the tooth.
- Fractured cusp – a piece of the top of a tooth that you need to be able to chew has broken off, that typically needs to be replaced with a filling or crown.6
- Cracked tooth – the tooth is split from the crown to the gums, which is likely treatable with root canal therapy and a crown.
- Split tooth – the tooth is split from the crown to underneath the gums, and probably even in the best-case scenario, only a portion of your natural tooth can be saved.
- Vertical root fracture – the tooth split begins underneath the gums, and extends up towards the crown, meaning you might not have even realized the severity of the damage. Treatment, such as a root canal, can prevent the surrounding bone and gum from becoming infected.
Root canal therapy
A root canal removes the inner, jelly-like pulp in the inside of your tooth, which contains nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue.7 If your tooth’s damage extends to this innermost part of your tooth, bacteria can enter and cause inflammation, pain, and infection.8 Root canal therapy cleans out and disinfects this part of the tooth, then fills and seals it to prevent your tooth, gums, or jaw from becoming infected.
Preventing future damage
Once you’ve seen the dentist and undergone their recommended treatment, focus on ways to prevent your teeth from becoming damaged again in the future. If the damage came from a sports injury or grinding your teeth, wear a mouthguard when you’re playing sports or going to sleep.9 Your dentist can check the quality of your mouthguard and make sure it’s not damaged or distorted.10 If your tooth became damaged while eating, be cautious next time when biting into foods like an apple or hard candy. Ask your dentist if there are any foods you should avoid altogether.
The bottom line
A damaged tooth can become a serious oral health issue if the inner part of the tooth is exposed to bacteria. If you realize you have a chip or crack in your teeth, search online for a “dentist near me” to schedule an appointment in Richardson as soon as possible. A dental professional can advise on the best course of action for your individual oral health needs, and treatments such as a root canal can help to relieve pain, remove any infection, and preserve your natural smile.
