Chipped Tooth Repair, Treatment and Pain Relief

Treatment for cracked teeth

You can chip or break your tooth in many ways and even if it isn’t causing you pain, it’s important that you get it seen to. The good news is that chipped tooth repair can restore your dental health and in this article, we look at what to do, as well as how to tell the difference between broken, cracked, and chipped teeth.

As you can see by following this link, the Nutrident team is dedicated to helping our readers achieve long-term dental wellness – something we do in part by creating blogs. Read to the end of this one and you’ll gain a better understanding of how to tell what kind of dentist treatment you need when your teeth become cracked or broken.

What are emergency dental kits?

How Damaged Teeth Can Occur

Tooth enamel is even tougher than bone, so it can take quite a whack to cause damage. That said, you may need chipped tooth repair for a wide range of reasons besides this and it can affect what kind of help you need. Fortunately, this help is available affordably through your NHS dentist*.

(*NHS)

These reasons can include:

• Biting down on hard food, like ice or boiled sweets
• An accident or collision
• Severe tooth decay leads to weakened teeth
• Taking a blow to the face
• Opening a bottle with your teeth

Besides the above, tooth decay can also be an underlying reason for a tooth or multiple teeth becoming broken.

Chipped vs Cracked or Broken Teeth

In this section, we look at the different types of tooth damage that can occur and what you do about them when they happen to you.

A Chipped Tooth

Ok, so as the term suggests, the first type of damage is the chip, which describes a small part of your tooth becoming dislodged in one of the many ways listed in the previous section. It’s important to keep hold of the chip and perhaps even store it in a glass of milk whilst you wait for chipped tooth repair services from your dentist, as it’s possible that it can be reattached.

What to do: This is usually not an emergency, so you’ll likely be asked to wait until you can get seen by your dentist at the earliest possible moment. If the pain becomes unbearable, try to manage it with ibuprofen or paracetamol and see if you can get a quicker appointment.

A Cracked Tooth

When your tooth becomes cracked, it’s possible that it will be more serious and require more treatment than chipped tooth repair. It could be possible that you’ve fractured or split your tooth, and the precise nature of the break will determine what kind of treatment you need.

You may or may not also be experiencing pain, but it’s absolutely something that needs to be sorted out without delay. The sooner a cracked tooth is dealt with, the higher the chance is that it can be saved.

What to do: Whether you use an emergency dentist or not is up to you, but we’d recommend seeing your local dentist ASAP. You might only need a small amount of work to repair it, but you might equally need tooth-saving root canal surgery and the longer you leave it, the worse it will get.

A Broken Tooth

Lastly, we look at the worst kind of damage – the broken tooth. This kind of damage can cause bleeding and it is likely that nerves will have become exposed. It is possible that you won’t be in pain, but even then, it can become infected, particularly if the issue has been partially caused by decay.

What to do: Find immediate dental care either from your own dentist or, failing that, an emergency dentist. Typically, though, the pain or discomfort will compel you to move quickly to have it dealt with.

With any of the types of tooth damage shown here, if you need help out of hours, we’d recommend either ringing your dentist to hear what their recorded message says you should do or calling NHS 111 for guidance on who to call.

Get the Help You Need in Good Time

Whether you need chipped tooth repair or you’ve cracked or broken your teeth, it’s worth re-emphasising the urgency of the situation. Get your appointment sorted at your earliest possible convenience and be careful about what you eat – so nothing that might cause further damage.

If you have any part of your broken tooth in your possession, keep it safe and take it with you to your appointment. The good news is that you shouldn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for the dental treatment under NHS treatment*.

(*NHS)

So, there you have it. We hope that you have found this article helpful and that it helps you get your problem sorted quickly and with the least possible pain and aggravation. Be sure to check out the FAQs below for answers to more questions on the subject.

Frequently Asked Questions on chipped teeth repair

Q: When might a cracked tooth result in it being lost?

A: Usually when the crack extends down to the root.

Q: What are the symptoms of a broken tooth?

A: Apart from the pain and visual breakage, you might find your jaw, cheek or gums swell. Also, you might find blood or discharge coming from the base of the tooth.

Q: Can I break my tooth without knowing?

A: Yes, it happens a lot. If you’re unsure, look out for the symptoms above and visit your dentist as soon as you can.

Q: Is a broken tooth really an emergency?

A: Yes, just ask anybody who’s suffered from the pain. Plus, when you’re at risk of losing adult teeth, it’s always something of an emergency.

References

Chipped, broken or cracked tooth – Retrieved from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chipped-broken-or-cracked-tooth/

Understanding NHS dental charges – Retrieved from: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/dental-costs/understanding-nhs-dental-charges/

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Author Bio

Gavin is a writer who specialises in creating informative articles on diet and oral health to help people achieve better all-round health.