Both children and adults may experience a broken or chipped tooth. This may happen because of an accidental blow to the mouth, because of an injury of some sort or even while eating something particularly hard. Especially if the tooth was already decayed, the chances of it chipping or breaking off completely are high.
The most important thing to remember is that the sooner one gets to the dentist with a chipped or broken tooth issue, the easier it is for this problem to be addressed. We at The Dental Hub often see patients with broken or chipped teeth and our expert dentists take care of them immediately. For your information, the following self-care measures are listed below as things to do before you get to the dentist
- Rinsing your mouth with salt water and taking a normal painkiller might help staunch any bleeding and help against pain
- It is quite easy to cut the inside of the cheek or the tongue on a jagged piece of tooth in the mouth so it is advisable to cover that part of the tooth with a piece of sugarless gum or even wax.
- Soft foods are suggested and it is best to avoid biting down hard on the chipped tooth as it might make the dentists work on it more difficult later.
Generally a chipped tooth does not cause pain as the chip is most often not big enough to reach the dental nerve or root. On the other hand a broken or cracked tooth may cause pain and sensitivity when chewing or when eating something very cold or hot.
Treatment of a chipped tooth depends on the size of the chip.
In case of a tiny or small chip the dentist may merely polish the surface of the tooth to make it even so that no jagged edges remain.
In case of a medium chip, the enamel of the tooth is likely to have suffered damage and hence a cap or crown may be fitted on to restore functionality and appearance.
In case of a large chip, most probably a root canal would be required to repair the damaged root and a filling or cap will be provided.