Chipped teeth can occur for a number of reasons. It may be caused while playing sports or it could be a result of a bad habit, such as nail biting or biting on pens. Regardless, if your tooth suffers a chip, you need to know what you should do in order to save your smile. Read on to learn more about chipped teeth, your potential solutions, self-care tips and prevention advice.
Do You Need to Call the Dentist?
Absolutely! Any time that you suffer damage to a tooth, you need to call your dentist. While the injury, such as a crack, may not be causing serious problems right now, it could get worse over time. Your dentist can conduct X-rays to ensure that the tooth's root isn't damaged. If you are in pain, you definitely need to call the dentist immediately. If you aren't in distress, then you can wait if you have no other option. However, you need to keep an eye out for any signs of infection, including pain, bad tastes, fever and swelling.
Self-Care Tips for Relieving the Pain and Discomfort
When you chip your tooth, it creates a jagged, sharp edge. This can rub the inside of your mouth and cause irritation. If this is happening, use a piece of sugarless gum or even a bit of dental wax to cover the sharp edge. You should never try to file the tooth down to eliminate the sharp edge, as this could damage the tooth more than necessary. Until you have seen the dentist, you will probably want to avoid hard, chewy and super-sweet foods, as they could cause pain and discomfort or increase the amount of damage to the tooth.
How to Protect the Chipped Tooth Until Your Dental Visit
If possible, save any pieces of your tooth that were broken off. You should rinse them off in a glass of warm water so that any blood or debris is removed from the piece. Place it in a container so that you don't lose it. Keeping chips is important because a clean break can often be fixed by your dentist with cement. It is not a permanent fix, however, but it can work until you can afford a more permanent solution. As a general rule, more permanent solutions involve crowns, dental bonding, enamel shaping and veneers.
If you're bleeding, use a piece of gauze to bite down on for a few minutes. A cold compress will typically help with the swelling and pain, if there is any.
Keep in mind that all accidents cannot be prevented 100 percent. However, you can significantly decrease your chances of injury by protecting your mouth and face. If your tooth has been chipped, you should call a cosmetic dentist, like those at Flemington Family & Cosmetic Dental Group, as soon as possible so that you can undergo any necessary treatment and get your award-winning smile back.
Share2 June 2015
Do you have "bad teeth"? I do. Ever since I was a kid, every checkup turns up a number of issues ranging from cavities to dental fractures. It has always been frustrating to keep my smile in decent shape, which is one of the reasons I started focusing on understanding different dental problems. I wanted to know what I was getting into when I visited the doctor, so I began focusing on learning as much as I could. I wanted to create this blog all about dentistry so that other people could find out what to expect when they head to the dentist. Check it out!
