What if you knocked out a tooth?
“If you want somewhere or want to go somewhere you know that people are going to take an interest into it and take care of your mouth like it’s their mouth then you probably will want to go here.”
A cracked tooth or chipped tooth is anything but fun. Apart from the pain, it affects the appearance of your smile and can lead to tooth decay, acute infection, nerve damage, and abscesses.
So, what if you knocked out a tooth? What can you do? First of all, do not leave a broken tooth untreated. Unless you want to risk severe health complications like the ones we have listed above. Visit Georgia Prosthodontics in Atlanta for complex cases of reconstructive dentistry related to broken teeth, chipped teeth, or cracked teeth.
Causes of a broken, chipped or cracked tooth
The common causes of a cracked tooth and broken tooth include:
- Trauma: falls, bike accidents, physical violence, and sports accidents.
- Biting hard on foods: like ice, popcorn kernels, and hard candy.
- Weak Teeth: by decay or dental fillings and root canal
- Bruxism: Tooth grinding
- Age
- Habits: like gum chewing and ice chewing.
At Georgia Prosthodontist in Atlanta, GA, we will guide you through all your alternatives and help you determine which kind of treatment best suits you. Reach out to speak with a Smile Specialist today!!
Reason for coming to a Smile Specialist
Our patient experienced a dental injury while playing his beloved sport, basketball. During the game, he was hit with an elbow directly on his front teeth, leading to a cracked tooth and subsequent loss.
Then, he went to a general dentist who fabricated a denture known as a “flipper” – something that has only one tooth in the front, solving the problem.
Although the dentist solved the problem, he was not happy. Which was why he reached out to us, looking for a permanent solution.
When can a cracked tooth not be saved?
It is generally preferable to save a tooth. However, it is not always possible. If your tooth is broken or cracked below the gum line due to trauma, saving it is impossible. Not only this but infection and decay can prompt your dentist to extract your tooth.
Ideally, your dentist will clean the root canal, disinfect the tooth, and fill it to strengthen it in case of minor infection and decay. However, if the infection has weakened the tooth and caused too much decay, the exterior will be weak beyond saving. Other causes include gum disease, tooth impaction, overcrowding, and trauma as in the case of this patient.
The Challenge of a single Missing Tooth in the front
In the patient’s case, we had a missing tooth on the front, bone loss, receding gum, and lost volume. Additionally, we had a space that was bigger than the tooth that was going to replace it.
Therefore, if we were to give him one single tooth, it had to be bigger than the one on the other side. Alternatively, we had to have spaces on either side of the tooth. As expected, he was unhappy with either way.
Treatment suggested. What can be done for a Missing Tooth?
We had various options for treating the patient’s tooth. One was to give him a simple removable denture – something he could take on and off. But he was unhappy with that since he wanted to have something similar or exactly to what he had naturally before. The other option was closing the space and giving him proper space distribution in between those front teeth with orthodontics. Like the last, he was not willing to go through braces. Therefore, this option was also off the table.
What we did was use the redistribution of the front teeth. We used some dental veneers and crowns on the teeth in the front for us to distribute and assign each tooth the proper space that it needed as if it was his natural dentition. All of these, within anatomical sizes and correct proportions. Once the prosthodontist determined that, the next would be to place the implant in the proper position, a suggestion that he loved.
Treatment options for a cracked and broken tooth. Removable partial, bridge or dental implant?
After presenting the idea, we tried it out with the software, saw it in photographs, took it out, and put it on Provisionals. He wore that smile for a while and when he was happy with it, we went ahead with the surgery. In the process, we reconstructed the missing tooth, lost bone, and soft tissue.
For similar cases like this, damaged teeth or severe problems options we could explore include a fix option or a removal option.
The removable option means partial denture – something you can take out at night. However, patients are not always happy with this because it is uncomfortable and unstable. Apart from this, when the patient smiles, you can see the junction of the tooth with the gum.
On the other hand, the fixed options we had for our patient included either doing a bridge, which required prepping the teeth adjacent to it and doing an implant. Since he didn’t want to have bridges, he opted for implants. To do this, we needed to determine the space for the teeth, place the implants in, develop the bone and volume required, contour the gum, and do a final restoration.
We reconstructed the gum and bone, and we gave him back his missing tooth through an implant. Once that healed, we were able to move on to our final stage – a crown for the implant, a crown for the adjacent tooth and two dental veneers for the teeth to improve the overall smile. We used the proper colors, shapes, and sizes. Also, this therapy helped us correct asymmetries, and the spaces he was looking to close were closed, without any tooth looking too big or too small.
Georgia Prosthodontics treating complex cases that include Dental Implants, Cosmetic Dentistry, Full Mouth Reconstruction, and TMJ Treatment.
When should a cracked tooth be extracted?
If our tooth is broken below the gum, there is a high chance that the damage is significant enough to warrant extraction. The deeper your tooth is broken, the harder it is to bind together. Contact us to schedule an appointment immediately in case of a chipped or broken tooth at (770) 381-9333 or visit our Dental Implant and Reconstructive Center conveniently located in Gwinnett County or Buckhead, GA
Can you leave a chipped or broken tooth untreated?
No, do not ever leave a broken tooth untreated, even if it doesn’t hurt or bother you. Visit us immediately in case of a broken tooth or other dental emergencies. The sooner you visit your dentist for an examination, the better the chance of a good outcome without complications and risking more serious issues.
How serious is a cracked tooth or broken tooth?
A broken tooth can cause more damage than ruin the appearance of your smile. Not treating it immediately can lead to serious dental problems. For example, bacteria can get into your broken tooth and spread to cause an abscess. In the worst case, a pocket of bacteria can cause an infection and spread to other parts of the body, causing severe health complications. A broken tooth can cause nerve damage, lead to a root canal, and open the teeth to other vulnerable issues like decay.
How this case is done for a Prosthodontist
Prosthodontists spend time listening, diagnosing, treating, and helping patients with troubled dentures so they can smile, speak and chew naturally again. At Georgia Prosthodontics, we use state-of-the-art dental technology to give patients Teeth in a Day.
Carlos Castro DDS, FACP
Board Certified Prosthodontist in Atlanta
Nicholas Miller, DMD, MS, FACP
Board Certified Prosthodontist in Atlanta
Why trust smile to a board-certified prosthodontist for a damaged tooth?
A prosthodontist is a dentist that specializes in implant, cosmetic, and reconstructive dentistry. To work as a prosthodontist, a dentist must pursue three additional years of full-time clinical training in a school. The board certification is even more rigorous and involves various examinations. Our smile specialist, Dr. Castro is the only Board Certified Prosthodontist in Georgia, with over 20 years of experience. We also work with Nicholas Miller, a Board-certified Prosthodontist in Atlanta.
Make an appointment with a prosthodontist as soon as possible that fixes teeth, your smile, and ease your pain
Trust your smile to a smile specialist. At Georgia Prosthodontics, we are smile specialists dedicated to using advanced dental implants and reconstructive dentistry to improve lives. Have you recently suffered a cracked and broken tooth in the Atlanta area? Our board-certified prosthodontist experts will provide quality dental treatment and help you get the smile you have always desired.
