A damaged tooth can cause intense discomfort, sensitivity to heat and cold, and trouble chewing, adversely impacting your oral and overall health. Understanding the types of treatment to repair a damaged tooth, from dental crowns to fillings, can help you make an informed decision to restore your smile.
Types of Damage
Several things can lead to a damaged tooth. Eating hard food, teeth grinding, chewing habits, facial trauma, extreme temperature changes, prior dental work, and age can all cause teeth to chip, crack, or break.
Genetics, high-sugar diets, poor oral hygiene, and chronic conditions can also contribute to decay.
Treatment Options
At No Gaps Dental, we offer several types of restorative treatments to repair a damaged tooth. The treatment your dentist prescribes depends on the nature and severity of the damaged tooth. For large cavities, dental crowns may be a better option than large fillings, which can cause teeth to crack. Some standard treatment options for a damaged tooth include:
Dental crowns
A dental crown is a long-lasting restoration that improves the tooth’s structural integrity and gives you a natural-looking smile. Your dentist makes a physical or digital impression of your mouth before shaping the enamel to accommodate the dental crown.
The impressions are sent to an off-site lab for traditional dental crowns, and your dentist fits a temporary dental crown until your next appointment when the permanent crown is cemented in place. These dental crowns can be made from silver amalgam, gold alloy, composite, or porcelain.
At No Gaps Dental, we offer CEREC dental crowns, which take only one appointment and involve no messy dental putty because your dentist takes digital impressions. The dental crown is crafted using CAM/CAM technology from a solid block of ceramic. The milling process takes around 15 minutes per crown, and the dental crown is applied to the damaged tooth the same day.
There are several types of dental crowns available, depending on the extent of the damage to your teeth. Full dental crowns cover the entire tooth surface and are used when little or the original tooth structure remains.
Partial dental crowns come in two types. An inlay is a partial dental crown made to fit into a cavity covering the pits and fissures between the tooth’s cusps. An onlay dental crown fits over the tooth’s cusps, covering the entire top of the tooth’s chewing surface, but does not reach the gumline.
After getting a dental crown, avoid eating anything hard or sticky for 24-48 hours to keep from pulling it loose. Dental crowns are appropriate for moderate to severely damaged teeth.
Dental bonding
Dental bonding starts with your dentist cleaning any decayed tissue from your tooth and shaping the damaged area. They then etch the enamel with a chemical agent to roughen the surface, which allows the composite to adhere more effectively.
Your dentist adds a composite material in thin layers, shaping it to follow the natural contours of the damaged tooth. Each layer is hardened with UV light. After the hardening process, there may be more shaping to get it just right.
This option may not be the best treatment to repair a damaged tooth if the damage is extensive. Dental bonding isn’t as durable as dental crowns and may not be a good fit for broken teeth.
Porcelain or composite veneers
Veneers are usually cosmetic but can fix a damaged tooth if the damage is on the front surface. The process involves grinding a thin layer of enamel from the front of the tooth and taking impressions to create the veneer shell.
Once the veneer is fabricated, you return for a second appointment where your dentist attaches the porcelain veneer with a bonding cement. This option can work for minor cosmetic damage like chips and discolouration. Dental crowns restore the tooth’s functionality, shape, and strength for more extensive damage.
Composite veneers are another option. The procedure is similar, but after the grinding, the dentist applies the composite directly to the teeth and hardens it with a UV light.
Dental fillings
Fillings are a common treatment for cavities. The dentist cleans and shapes the hole, then fills it with an acrylic resin colour-matched to your tooth shade. If you have a large cavity or multiple restorations to the same tooth, your dentist may recommend a dental crown.
Root canal treatment
If the damage penetrates the enamel and affects the pulp chamber, you may need a root canal. A root canal is often the only way to save a severely damaged or infected tooth from extraction.
During a root canal procedure, your dentist drills a small hole in your crown to expose the pulp chamber. They then remove the pulp and disinfect the cavity.
The cavity is sealed with gutta-percha and a tooth-coloured filling. There may not be enough of the tooth’s natural structure remaining in some cases, so you revisit your dentist to have a dental crown fitted.
Extraction
Dentists preserve natural teeth when possible, but sometimes the damage is too extensive. If your tooth needs to be extracted, your dentist numbs the area with a local anaesthetic and uses a dental elevator and forceps to remove the tooth.
Once the wound has healed, they will discuss your missing tooth replacement options.
Schedule an Appointment
Understanding the most common options for treatment to repair a damaged tooth can help you work with your No Gaps Dental dentist to find the right choice for your oral health. Contact us online or call (02) 8806 0227 to book an appointment to fix your damaged tooth.
Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
References
Cracked Tooth: Symptoms, Treatments, and Recovery
https://www.healthline.com/health/cracked-tooth
Dental treatment
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/dental-treatment
Dental injury
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/dental-injury
Cracked Tooth Repair: Treatment & Costs
https://www.smile.com.au/dental-treatments/cracked-tooth-repair
Three-dimensional finite element analysis of glass-ceramic dental crowns
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/002192909090008Q