Your teeth have been designed to be hard enough to bite, chew and grind most normal foods. Unfortunately, there are still some instances when unnatural forces can cause a large chip or fracture in a tooth. This could be something as traumatic as a blow to the face or something as mundane as grinding your teeth at night. The severity of the fracture will dictate the most appropriate treatment options that our dentist recommends.
In some cases, a minor chip can be repaired with a basic filling or cosmetic bonding procedure. If one or more teeth in your smile have chips, he might recommend having porcelain dental veneers installed over the face of each tooth.
If your cracked or chipped tooth is accompanied by sharp pain, excessive sensitivity, or a persistent ache, that probably means the pulp of your tooth has been damaged. A root canal treatment is the most common way to treat cracks such as this.
If the cracked tooth causes a persistent ache, sharp pain, or excessive sensitivity, it likely means the damage extends down into the pulp or root of the tooth. In a case like this, a root canal might be needed to resolve the problem.
If the chip or crack is really bad, our dentist may recommend extracting and replacing the bad tooth. After your mouth has healed from the extraction, Dr. Sandy Pape will speak with you about what restoration option would be best for your unique oral health needs.
To learn more about your options for repairing a cracked broken tooth, please contact Dr. Sandy Pape at Isle Smile in Key West, Florida today!