One of the scariest dreams worldwide is that you have a chipped, cracked tooth or that you lose a tooth or two. Apparently, about 40% of people had this type of experience so naturally patients are worried.
Even through having a chipped or cracked tooth could be frightening, it’s not as nearly serious as you think. There is a solution for this type of fear, whether it’s home remedy, different prevention techniques or actual treatments.
Chipped teeth – How does it happen?
Believe it or not, there can be pretty strange and unexpected ways you can chip your teeth. Dentists with plentiful of experience heard stories that tooth chip simply from passionate kissing, lifting weights and so on. Pretty bizarre don’t you think?
Oh and that’s not all. Some cases of tooth chipping were reported because the person was shivering, had an overly joyful greeting from a pet or even chewing on hard candy (okay that one makes sense though).
Chipped tooth basically happen when there’s a sudden blow to your mouth, which your tooth enamel cannot sustain so it cracks / chips.
This seems pretty strange given the fact that the tooth enamel is the hardest part of your teeth. It’s the outer layer of your tooth that protects the inside.
Now, even if enamel is the hardest part of your tooth, it’s not resilient to everything. Some high impact blows, grinding, hard bites…could cause it to crack.
On the other hand, trauma or sports activities can also damage your tooth enamel. This is mostly common with teenagers.
But if the tooth enamel is so strong, how can it crack? Well one of the most common causes is that there is tooth decay already present, which weakens your teeth so it only takes that one small ‘push’.
What are the symptoms of chipped/cracked tooth?
If you have a cracked or chipped tooth, and it’s in the front of your mouth, it will be pretty simple to spot. Chipped / cracked teeth usually present with some of the following symptoms:
- When you run your tongue over your tooth, you feel a rough, uneven or even jagged edge on the surface
- When you constantly rub your tongue on the jagged part of your tooth, it will get irritated
- If you put pressure on that tooth, you will feel pain
- You will become more sensitive to cold foods or drinks
If one or more of these symptoms apply to you, but you can’t really tell if your tooth is chipped/cracked, contact Premiere Dental and schedule an appointment.
Chipped/Cracked tooth – What to do?
A crack or chip on your tooth can take you by surprise and can be shocking. And even though the crack/chip might not be huge, we strongly recommend that you don’t wait. Instead, take action NOW. So what can you do?
- Well if a portion of your teeth is missing, try to locate it. If you’ve done so, pick it up by the crown (not the root) and make sure that you preserve it in either saliva or milk. You’ll need to take that piece to your dentist
- In order to protect your mouth from rough edges, we recommend putting a teabag, dental wax or even a sugar-free gum over the cracked tooth
- If you’re feeling pain or discomfort, take some over-the-counter pain medication
- When it comes to meals, go for softer food, at least until you fix the crack
- If the chip/crack is really small and your dental appointment is not for a few days, keep in mind to regularly floss and rinse your mouth with salt water
- Avoid hard foods and if possible, chew on the other side of your mouth.
Regardless whether the chip is small or big, when you notice it, make sure to contact your dentist right away so he could have look and fix it.
