Fashion Blogs

Chipped teeth are a risk for anyone. Activities like sports, accidents, slips and falls, and even biting into hard and frozen foods can crack, chip, or break a tooth. Cavities, even when filled, can also weaken the surrounding tooth. Tooth damage is not only unsightly, but often painful, and can leave you at risk of further damage.

Chipped Tooth Problems

You can have a chipped tooth and still not feel any pain. It depends on whether the damage is severe enough to have exposed the nerves within the tooth. If so, you’ll feel heightened sensitivity if not sharp pain when chewing food, or if your tooth is exposed to hot or cold beverages. In some cases, the damage may not affect the nerve at all, but take the form of cracks or chips.

This could still expose the softer layer beneath the enamel to possible decay. With heavy damage, cracks could extend all the way into the tooth root and cause bleeding in the gums. This creates the possibility of infections where you can’t detect them until it’s too late. Any tooth damage should be inspected by your dentist as soon as possible.

Immediate Response

If you’ve suffered a chipped tooth, there are some actions you can take to minimize the pain and improve your final outcome.

1. Rinse your mouth out with slightly warmed, salted water to stave off infections and relieve pain.
2. Stop any bleeding by applying pressure with some sterile gauze.
3. If you feel pain in the tooth or aches in the jaw, use an ice pack to relieve it.
4. If you can’t get to a dentist right away, use some temporary dental cement, available at most drug stores, to cover the damage. Use dental wax or sugarless gum over any sharp edges around the chip to avoid cutting your mouth or tongue.
5. Consume only room-temperature liquids and soft foods.
6. Use over-the-counter pain medications as needed.

Professional Care

Your dentist may decide on different tooth repair treatments depending on the extent of the injury to your tooth.

If the chip is quite small and confined to the tooth enamel, it might be possible to round off and smooth the damaged area so that the chip is less visible and more comfortable. Usually no more treatment is required. Your body will rebuild the enamel over time.

When the damage to your tooth goes deeper and can’t be effectively smoothed over, your dentist might recommend a crown or cap to cover the chip. This will restore normal appearance and eliminate irritation, while allowing you to eat harder foods normally.

Should the chip be large enough to expose the nerve within your tooth, you may need oral surgery. It might be necessary to remove the damaged nerve, fill in the cavity, and cover the tooth with a crown. In some cases you might need a root canal, or if there’s extensive damage even an artificial tooth or bridge.

In Emergencies

Exposed nerves and heavy tooth damage can be very painful and make it difficult to eat food or focus on work. It’s important to have the tooth treated promptly, both to end your discomfort and avoid infections. Find a dentist who provides emergency services. Search online for a dentist within driving distance by entering the name of your community into the search bar and a phrase such as “emergency dental”. If you don’t find any, try searching neighboring towns or the nearest city. You could also search the websites of dental organizations for something in your area.

While minor damage may be simply embarrassing or uncomfortable, severe damage is painful and poses a risk of infection that could spread within your gum or jaw with serious consequences. To be prepared, especially if you have children, find the number of an emergency dentist now and keep it handy.