Treatments of fractured teeth

Tooth fractures can be of different types and each type needs to be treated differently.

    * Minor Cracks: These are also known as “craze lines” and are surface cracks affecting the white surface of your tooth, known as the enamel.

      These cracks do not require any treatment.
      However, a dentist might polish the effected area to smoothen the rough spots.
    * Cracked Tooth: This is one such fracture type that affects the tooth on the whole, from the surface used for chewing to the nerve. Cracks can often be mended with typical dental filling materials.
      The tooth can also be prevented with the help of a crown and this also helps in preventing the worsening of tooth. If there’s a damage in the pulp (nerve, live tissues), a root canal treatment might be needed.
    * Chips: Minor chips might not need treatment all the time. Your dentist might just repair the damage with the help of filing material in order to prevent worsening. If the chip is a tiny one, polishing would be enough to even out the area that has been chipped.
    * Broken Cusps: These are breaks that affect the pointed cusps or the chewing surface of your teeth. They are unlikely to affect your pulp and might not cause any pain as well. Your dentist might feel the need to mend the damage if it disrupts chewing. A crown or onlay might however be required.
    * Serious Breaks: These are deeper breaks that can expose and affect the nerve. This causes pain and tooth sensitivity. The broken part of a tooth usually bleeds. You will have to undergo a root canal treatment for removing the nerve that has been exposed and then crown it in order to bring the tooth back to its regular functions so that you can chew and eat properly.
    * Split Tooth: In this case, the tooth splits vertically into separate parts. Some teeth, like the ones at the back (the molars), have quite a few roots. One of the roots can possibly be kept and then covered with a crown.
      Firstly, a root canal treatment becomes obvious. Secondly, the damaged roots will be removed by the dentist. Thirdly, the root will be covered by a crown and the tooth will be replaced. In case if the root is totally damaged and can in no ways be saved, removing the tooth is the ultimate choice.
    * Vertical Breaks / Split Root: These cracks affect the root of tooth first and then expand upwards to reach the chewing surface. These are painful breaks and are caused by infection and inflammation. This calls for a tooth removal.
    * Decay-Induces Break: This is a case of a broke tooth caused by cavities that weaken the tooth, inside out. A dentist will examine the cavity and will then recommend the best way of restoring the tooth. In certain cases, the tooth might have to be removed.

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Teeth Grinding(Bruxism) Can Give You A Headache

Does your wife or partner complain, every morning, about your teeth grinding or teeth clenching keeping her awake? The very fact that your wife complained about it keeping her awake made you aware about your habit. It is always the person sleeping at the side of you who will be able to tell you.
This habit of grinding and clenching the teeth is known as bruxism.

Here, people with irregular or infrequent bruxism do no get affected as much. It does not really show the damage done to the jaws and teeth. It is those who are habitual grinders who get affected. In severe cases it can also damage one’s jaw or hearing.

The question arises as to how would one know if he or she grinds or clenches their teeth? If detected how bruxism can be treated? It has been studied that some people make a noise when grinding their teeth thus making it detectable while some do not make a single sound making it hard to detect.
There are two ways one can know if they have bruxism, first is when your partner complains about it and second is when after a night’s sleep you get up with an ache in your jaws or a slight, persistent headache. Whatever the case, a checkup by the dentist is pertinent.


Consequences of teeth grinding or clenching:

There are many outcomes to teeth grinding two of which are mentioned above:

    * Severe toothache
    * Sensitive to biting food
    * Sensitive to hot or cold food
    * In advanced cases the teeth can break or result in fractures
    * Tooth loss

Precaution And Treatment

People visiting the dentist usually complain of severe toothache. To stop this toothache the very habit has to be put to an end. Otherwise there are other factors that could cause it and have to be contained:

    * Lower stress and relax daily
    * Reduce alcohol consumption and intake of caffeine
    * If grinding becomes a problem at night ask your dentist to recommend a nightguard
    * If your dentist says it is caused because of irregular bite, he would suggest teeth alignment.

Tooth Pain

   1. Introduction to tooth pain

   2. Causes of tooth pain

   3. Prevention of tooth pain

   4. Home remedies for tooth pain

   5. Treatment of tooth pain

Introduction to tooth pain

“Tooth pain” or “Tooth ache” can be generally regarded as pain around a particular tooth, teeth or jaws. Tooth pain can range from mild discomfort or sensitivity to being excruciatingly painful. Some women have even compared toothpain to being as painful as child birth. Of course, these might be exaggerated claims from some desperate women, but it does reflect the intensity of the pain arising from a toothache.

The actual pain we feel is due to the irritation of the nerves which are associated with the tooth/teeth. If you didn’t know, nerves are responsible for carrying sensations like heat, cold, touch and PAIN to the brain. In this case when the nerves inside the tooth are irritated, these carry the pain impulse to the brain.

Causes of toothpain

Most of the causes of tooth pain are limited to oral/dental causes.

The oral causes of tooth pain are

    * Tooth Decay or Cavity (being the most common cause of tooth pain)

The most common cause of tooth pain is Tooth Decay. Tooth decay is the degradation of the tooth due to harmful acids secreted by bacteria in the oral cavity.

    * Gum Disease

The next important causing agent of tooth pain is gum disease. Poor oral hygiene leads to bacterial plaque accumulation and the toxins release from these bacteria damage the gums. The gums become swollen, red and painful (Gingivitis). If gum disease is not controlled early, you are at a risk of losing your tooth.

    * Root Sensitivity

Root sensitivity (commonly termed as tooth sensitivity) is when the roots of the teeth become exposed due to recession of the gums. The roots are very sensitive and respond with pain to reasonably hot or cold foods.

    * Cracked teeth

A painful accidental blow or extreme biting force can cause the tooth fracture which can become a source of intense pain whenever the fractured tooth is even touched.

    * Temporomandibular joint(TMJ) Disorder

TMJ disorder is an inflammatory reaction at the sight of the lodgment of the lower jaw at the skull. Various factors such as Bruxism (Night grinding or teeth grinding), arthritis can cause TMJ disorders.

    * Wisdom tooth eruption or impaction

The eruption of Wisdom tooth often causes pain due to its misalignement. It can become impacted (does not erupt) and require surgical extraction.

    * Fillings:

People who have undergone fillings can get severe toothache suddenly. This might be because of the spread of the decay to the pulp and you will need to undergo root canal treatment for that. It can also occur due to accumulation of fluid with organic debris and bacteria between the filling and your teeth often termed as microleakage in dental jargon.

The non-oral causes include Ear and Sinus infections .

Prevention of tooth pain

There is no magic trick to prevent tooth pain from occurring. All you need to do is maintain a good oral hygiene which you can do by following the 10 Commandments for healthy teeth.

Home remedies for toothpain

There isn’t a fixed time for toothpain to occur. You can’t drive to your dentist at 3 am at night. However, you can surf the net looking for home remedies. Although, these should not be substituted for a visit to the dentist, they can provide temporary relief from the agonizing pain.

I have not tried any of them and do not suggest their use either. They are listed here for informational purposes only

1. Sensodyne Therapy: Works for tooth cavities

   1. Rinse your mouth with warm water.

   2. Put max strength sensodyne toothpaste on the cavity.

   3. You can feel the pain relief after few minutes.

The effect will decrease when you drink water or other liquids after putting the sensodyne.

2. The Whiskey BC Mix: Works for nearly all tooth pains and is quite effective. Note that this can be nasty when you try it.

   1. Add teaspoon of baking soda in a shot of Whiskey.

   2. Dissolve a packet of BC pain relief powder in the above mix.

   3. Swish around the affected tooth for two minutes.

Try this if you have unmanageable tooth pain and you cant get health care right away.

3. Nyquil therapy: Lots of people swear by this fast and effective trick. It works very well indeed and I have quite a few people thanking me for this one.

Take half a teaspoon of Nyquil or Kroger Nitetime (cold/flu syrups) and swish around the affected area.

Other

Try sucking at a clove or put clove oil on the affected tooth.

Place a raw piece of onion on the affected tooth.

Treatment for Tooth Pain

The treatments for tooth pain vary greatly. They treat the actual cause of your tooth pain. For example

If you have tooth decay, you will have to undergo a filling procedure.

If the tooth decay has reached your pulp, you would have to undergo a RCT procedure.

If you have impacted Wisdom tooth, they need to be extracted.

Your dentist will determine the best treatment option for you after examining you.