Crunching on ice, chewing medications, or other bad oral habits like using your teeth to open packaging can increase your risk of suffering a chipped or fractured tooth. It’s also worth noting that athletes who fail to use a quality mouth guard during the necessary times are also at great risk of suffering from a dental fracture.
Even if the damaged tooth doesn’t cause you pain or lead to tooth sensitivity problems you should still have it tooth examined as soon as possible. It’s important to prevent a new area of tooth decay from afflicting the already compromised area of tooth enamel.
Some a dentist like Dr. Robert Seaman can treat a minor dental fracture with a composite or amalgam dental filling. This outpatient treatment begins with him numbing the tooth and surrounding gums.
Once you are comfortable he will carefully remove a small amount of additional tooth enamel to provide the necessary surface texture to secure the dental filling. This might also be necessary if bacterial deposits have started to compromise the surrounding tooth enamel.
After applying the necessary dental filling material, he will harden and bond it to the surrounding tooth enamel with a special ultraviolet light. With consistent brushing and flossing the treated tooth should last you for many years to come.
If you live in the Lenexa, Kansas, area, and you have recently suffered a chipped or fractured tooth you should call 913-353-4095 to have it treated at Seaman Family Dentistry.
