Cracked Tooth

Your teeth are strong and resilient. With them, you can eat what you want, and they’re designed to last for your lifetime. However, you could bite down wrong and crack your tooth or do something else to have this happen.

When that happens, you might experience a sharp, immediate pain. It is sure to go away over time, but you could feel it come and go as you bite again or breathe.

If that occurs, it’s essential to have a safe and close place to go in Albuquerque. At Ivory Dental, we’re available for various emergencies, including a cracked tooth.

Often, your cracked tooth doesn’t cause any pain. You could wait to come in for an appointment in a day or so. However, if you’re in pain now, it’s essential that you come in as soon as you can. We offer many treatments to correct this problem so that you’re smiling wide and pain-free again soon.

Are Cracked and Broken Teeth the Same?

Most people aren’t sure if a broken tooth is similar to a cracked tooth. In a sense, the answer isn’t as straightforward as you might like. However, the terms are often used interchangeably.

There are different types of cracks. For instance, some cracks are superficial and don’t cause pain or other problems. You may come in for a routine appointment, and the dentist can seal them with a special sealant. That way, food and bacteria don’t get inside to do more damage.

Other times, the crack is very severe. It might lead to your tooth chipping away or breaking even more. These must be treated as soon as possible. That way, you avoid more pain. With that, though, damage to the affected tooth might be likely. You could even do damage to the gums and the tooth root.

Therefore, in a sense, you can call it a broken tooth; when you arrive for treatment, we assess the situation and offer the right treatment plans based on your specific needs.

What Procedures Can Fix a Broken or Cracked Tooth?

When you first break or crack your tooth, it’s likely to hurt badly. This is a sign that you have something wrong in your mouth. Many people initially panic and worry about what to do. However, there’s no need to fret. That is a common dental emergency, and we can handle it swiftly to help you avoid more pain.

You may not realize that there are different ways to fix your cracked tooth. When you come in for treatment, we focus on your needs. Ultimately, we start with less invasive options and go from there. That way, you can get the crack fixed and be on your way to eating and enjoying life again without pain.

Crowns

Crowns are caps for your teeth. They can cover the full tooth and are convenient. Many people choose them as a go-to solution since they’re a bit thicker than a veneer and can restore the shape and appearance of the damaged tooth.

Usually, they’re made with zirconium, porcelain, or ceramic. This is a safe and great solution because it offers more protection and strength to the damaged tooth. Typically, we can put them on easily, but it does require a mold of your tooth and a lab to create it. However, you get a temporary crown to eliminate pain until the permanent crown is available.

Veneers Are a Great Option

If a crown doesn’t fit your needs or the crack is minor, you may consider veneers as your go-to treatment. A veneer is a thin and colored shell, which matches the surrounding natural teeth. Often, we use porcelain or composite resin to make the veneer. This is a popular cosmetic procedure, and we can use it as a restorative way to improve your smile.

Usually, the thin shells are made at a dental lab. Therefore, we must create a mold of the tooth and send it to the right people. We can put on a temporary veneer to protect your tooth until the lab gives us your permanent one.

Once we receive the veneer, we bond it to the front of your damaged tooth. This hides the crack and restores your aesthetic appearance. However, it can also protect your tooth from more damage and offers a bit of strength to the affected tooth.

Still, it isn’t as durable as a crown.

Extraction with Implant and Bonding Are Suitable

In some cases, it is impossible for us to fix a cracked tooth because there’s too much damage. However, that doesn’t mean you have no other options. Our goal is to ensure that you have healthy teeth, and we can do that with a variety of solutions.

Therefore, it might be better for us to extract or remove the damaged tooth. Though we want you to have a healthy smile and retain as many natural teeth as possible, this could be the right course of action for severe breakage or cracks.

Once we do that and you’ve healed, we can put in a dental implant. You have a zirconium or titanium post, which is implanted surgically into your jawbone. It must also heal up, and then we can put a crown over that to cover it and help you have a beautiful smile again.

While this is an advanced solution, you may catch the crack early so that you don’t have to remove any damaged teeth.

Other Methods of Fixing Broken/Cracked Teeth

Those aren’t the only ways we can fix a cracked or broken tooth. We can also offer:

• Filling – If the crack is around a filling, we could refill that tooth to fix it. If your crack knocked the filling out, this option might still be possible. However, it might not work, but the next solution could.
• Root Canal – When the crack is severe and goes through the tooth and into the pulp/root, it could develop an infection. We can use root canal treatment to help. That removes the bacteria and fills the entire space with the material. Then, we add a crown to it to ensure a beautiful smile.
• Bonding – Sometimes, the crack takes out a piece of the tooth. We can use bonding to fix it. This procedure is not invasive, and it’s ideal for most Albuquerque residents.

Call Ivory Dental Today About Your Cracked Tooth

You don’t have to live with a cracked tooth for the rest of your life. In fact, you may want to get it fixed as soon as you can to prevent more damage.

Though some cracks are superficial, they can get worse with time. If you’re unsure of what to do, it’s best to call Ivory Dental to request an appointment. However, if you’re in pain, we call that an emergency and can often get you in for treatment the same day you call.

Don’t let a cracked tooth take away your smile’s shine. It could force you to stop smiling, and we don’t want it to ruin your life.

At Ivory Dental, we have many ways to correct a broken or cracked tooth. Please visit our office at the sign of a problem. That way, we can fix it before it becomes severe and more expensive!