What should you do if discover that you have a broken wisdom tooth? What are the treatment options that a person can have to treat wisdom teeth that are broken or damaged? This article will talk about wisdom teeth, how to take care of them, the reasons why wisdom teeth sometimes get cracked or why a person ends up having a broken tooth, and the treatment options available to them. After reading this article, you can visit http://emergencydentistadelaidedr.com.au/emergency-dental-clinic/ to read what an emergency dentist can help with.
Problems with wisdom teeth
Even when wisdom teeth are not cracked or broken, they have the potential to cause a lot of problems. They can be impacted and not grow in properly, causing the person extreme pain. This is why many people opt to have their wisdom teeth removed, even before they cause trouble and oral issues.
Broken wisdom tooth
Dealing with a broken wisdom tooth may be troublesome. The break in the tooth may cause extreme pain that can inhibit concentration and can be very distracting for a person. The pain that is associated with a broken or cracked wisdom tooth is because there is an infection inside that needs to be treated. A person can take over-the-counter medications or do home remedies to deal with the pain of the broken wisdom tooth. However, the pain will only fade temporarily if the root cause (which is usually an infection within the tooth) is not treated.
Causes of broken wisdom teeth
Broken wisdom teeth can happen for many reasons. It may be because the person bit down on a hard type of food and the tooth cracked because of it.
What to do for a broken wisdom tooth
If you have a broken tooth, whether that be a regular tooth or any broken wisdom teeth, you should see a dentist. The dentist will be able to provide treatment for broken wisdom teeth and also recommend treatment methods to help you cope with your broken tooth.
Treatment options for broken wisdom teeth
There are many treatment options that a dentist may recommend when a person has broken wisdom teeth. Here is a list of possible treatment options that a dentist can recommend to treat a broken tooth.
- Wisdom tooth extraction
If the broken wisdom tooth is severely damaged, the dentist may recommend wisdom tooth extraction. This is a simple procedure that will allow a patient to go home on the same day as the operation. The procedure itself is painless, as the dentist will apply a local anesthetic to the area to numb it for the procedure. After the broken wisdom tooth is extracted and the anesthesia wears off, the person can expect to feel a little pain. However, this pain will subside as the hours go by and should be completely gone within a few days.
- Tooth restoration techniques
If the break in the wisdom tooth is large but the tooth is salvageable, the dentist will recommend tooth restoration techniques to repair a broken tooth. The dentist can recommend a root canal procedure, that will remove the infected tooth pulp and save the tooth.
- Dental fillings
If the broken wisdom tooth is only slightly cracked, dental fillings may be applied to the wisdom tooth to repair it and prevent any dirt, bacteria and small food particles from gaining entry to the tooth. Dental fillings are usually applied to broken or cracked teeth that have minimal damage and do not have any infections yet within the broken tooth.
- Dental surgery
If the extent of the damage of the tooth is great, and if the tooth has not fully crowned, it will make it difficult for the dentist to do a routine tooth extraction. This is when dental surgery needs to be done to remove the broken tooth.
Keep in mind that most of the time, if the wisdom teeth are causing problems for a person, whether it is a broken tooth or not, the dentist will advise the patient that it may be better if the wisdom tooth is removed to prevent any future problems from occurring.
Wisdom teeth and bone loss
If any tooth is removed or falls out on its own, there is always the risk of tooth loss in the area with the missing tooth. Bone loss is usually caused by the lack of pressure that is put on the jawbone when a person bites down.
Bone loss can be prevented by practicing good oral hygiene habits. If the surrounding teeth remain healthy and strong, there will be less chance of future tooth loss and bone loss. Also, there are other orthodontic solutions that can be used to solve the problem of a broken tooth that had to be extracted.
Dental implants can be put in to replace the missing tooth. These implants will provide the necessary pressure that the jawbone needs to be able to prevent future bone loss. Also, attempts to save the broken tooth, such as using root canal procedures instead of tooth extractions will also prevent bone loss because the tooth will not need to be extracted.
Do you have a broken wisdom tooth?
If you have a broken wisdom tooth that needs treatment, or if you have any broken tooth, it is a good idea to see a dentist about this. If a broken tooth is left unchecked and untreated, it can lead to bigger problems because a broken tooth is more vulnerable to infection.
Seeing a dentist and getting treatment for your broken tooth will save you the hassle and inconvenience of having your tooth extracted. It will save you from the danger of bone loss in the future. It will also save you a lot of money in dental procedures that you may need if you prolong getting treatment for your broken wisdom tooth.
Final thoughts
Even if your wisdom tooth does not appear broken, but is causing you pain, it is still a wise idea to see a dentist about this pain you are experiencing. Especially if the pain is recurring or if it gets more intense as time passes by, it may be a sign of something more serious that is happening within your wisdom tooth.
There are also instances where your dentist may recommend the removal of your wisdom tooth even in the absence of pain. With these types of cases, the dentist foresees (by using the results of a person’s dental x-rays) that the wisdom teeth are going to cause problems down the road, they may recommend that the wisdom tooth be removed. With the dental x-ray, dentists are able to track how teeth will grow in. If they see that they may become impacted in the future and may become broken because of this, the dentists will advise the patients about this.
In a nutshell, it is important to always go to your dental appointments, especially when it comes to your wisdom teeth. Since these are the teeth that seem to cause more problems than any other teeth, your dentist will be able to tell you if they are worth keeping or not. Also, if you notice that your wisdom tooth has cracks or is broken, talk to your dentist about this. Getting prompt treatment for broken, damaged or painful wisdom teeth will ensure that the root cause of the problem is treated and that you will not feel pain for long.
