Posted on 1/20/2020 by Advanced Dental Associates
It doesn’t happen often when you are young, but the older you get, the more frequently it happens. You are eating from a can of your favorite cashews, when suddenly you crunch down on something you know isn’t a nut- instead it’s a piece of your tooth.
Once you’ve lost a piece of your tooth, what should you do? We have some suggestions.
What Happens When You Break Or Damage A Tooth
The older you get, the more likely you are to have a broken tooth, or a damaged tooth. This happens for several reasons. First, you may have had cavities in your molars. In the past, when those molars were filled, the teeth might be unstable because the fillings are so big.
They may break or crack more easily. You also may have teeth that are weaker due to bruxism. If you clench your teeth at night, or you grind your teeth, you have bruxism. Your teeth may be weaker due to gum disease or an unfilled cavity as well.
Why You Need To Fix Your Teeth
If you break or crack a tooth and you don’t get it fixed, you may risk losing the tooth entirely. While this may not seem like a big deal, it is. When you lose a tooth, lots of things can happen. Other teeth may try to take the place of your missing tooth by shifting to fill the hole. This means that your bite could be off. A missing tooth also means changes to your jawbone.
Your jawbone senses when a tooth is missing, and it begins to take bone away from your jawbone to use somewhere else in your body. Over time, your jawbone shape may change, as well as your face shape. No one wants that.
Do you need information about how to fix a broken or damaged tooth? We can help. Contact us today.