Source: www.oralanswers.com
You were running with the ball (and the world) at your feet past three opposing players. The goal was so near and so certain, you were unstoppable when suddenly out of nowhere, what felt like a huge solid block of timber came into your path. BOOM, head-on collision. Whistle blown. Now you’re lying down on the field with a fragment of your tooth on your hand.
“What should I do?”
Fractured tooth is not the end of the world. There are several ways to treat a fractured tooth depending on the extent of fracture and associated signs and symptoms. It is important to visit your dentist as soon as possible after the injury, especially if the tooth bleeds from the fracture. Otherwise, the tooth could become infected, which will eventually affect the treatment outlook.
Dental filling
Enamel, the outermost covering of your tooth, is the hardest structure in the human body, although the strength does have its limitation. Minimal cracks and chips can be repaired with dental composite, a tooth-coloured resin-based restorative material. Composite filling is a simple procedure that involves etching (treating the tooth surface with a mild acid to improve adhesiveness), application of bonding agent and contouring the composite to restore the normal pre-fracture tooth shape and form. After that, the soft composite paste is hardened using blue light and polished.
Root canal treatment
If the fracture is extensive and exposes the pulp (the central part of your tooth where the nerves and blood vessels are located), or the tooth becomes non vital following a fracture, root canal treatment may have to be done to save the tooth. Root canal treatment (RCT) is a multistep procedure involving removing the dead pulp and cleaning the root canal, and then sealing it to prevent further bacterial ingress. It is almost like getting your tooth filled albeit the procedure sometimes takes two to three appointments to complete.
Dental crown
A dental crown is a tooth-shaped cap used to cover and protect a tooth. This is usually done if the fracture is large enough to break off a huge chunk of your tooth, or root canal treatment was previously performed on that tooth. Crowns are madeof metal, porcelain and also both metal and porcelain fused together. Besides protecting the remaining tooth structure, dental crown can also improve the appearance of the tooth as they can be made to look nearly identical to the original tooth!
Even though there are various ways to treat a fractured tooth, in some circumstances, it cannot be saved and has to be removed. This does not mean that you will be left with no tooth at all. There are many ways as well to replace a tooth, ranging from placing a removable partial denture to dental bridge and implant. These methods have their respective advantages, and the cost also differ. The most important thing is to see your dentist as soon as possible after the accident as your tooth’s life depends on it!
Dr. Husna Razak (BDS) (KLE VK) is a dental officer working in the Kelantan. Know more about her in The Team page.
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[This article belongs to The Malaysian Medical Gazette. Any republication (online or offline) without written permission from The Malaysian Medical Gazette is prohibited.]