What are the dangers of ignoring a chipped or broken tooth?

A chipped tooth could start as a niggling annoyance, but could end up causing you more harm if you don’t see a professional dentist about it.

Teeth chipping and cracking is relatively normal amongst both adults and children – so don’t be worried if this does happen to you!

The best thing you can do is book an appointment with your dentist straight away, so we can offer the best solution to solve things as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Some possible instances where the tooth may become cracked are:

  • grinding teeth too hard
  • eating something
  • fillings which are too large for the teeth
  • general wear and tare with age
  • severe changes in temperature in the mouth

Fixing your tooth… not just cosmetic purposes! 

Although a cracked or chipped tooth doesn’t exactly look nice, most people forget the oral health dangers of a cracked tooth.

A dentist can evaluate your cracked tooth and the surrounding gum area to prevent any further damage and infection before treating the tooth in the appropriate way.

A severe fracture could actually implicate the function of a nerve inside your tooth, and this is definitely something you want to avoid!

Some of us don’t see a chip as a big issue and decide to ignore it – but below are some of the reasons why you shouldn’t do that!

Increase in sensitivity

If you get a chip in your tooth and leave it untreated this can actually end up making your teeth more sensitive, so it may feel uncomfortable when you are eating and drinking extremely hot or extremely cold things.

Bad breath

Additionally, cracks in the tooth can lead to bits of food getting trapped or difficulty with cleaning properly, which can ultimately lead to bad breath.

Potential for dental abscess to form

Dental abscess can be extremely painful. An abscess is a collection of pus that can form inside the teeth or gums and is caused by a bacterial infection. A crack tooth means you will be more susceptible to one forming.

Teeth may become weaker

A small chip can become increasingly more severe very quickly! A crack will weaken the teeth and can cause further damage to the tooth in future.

Contact your dentist ASAP

We have a qualified team of trained specialists who will be happy to treat your chipped tooth before the problem becomes more severe.

Whether you have a small chip in your tooth or your whole tooth has cracked in half, you should not put off fixing your tooth as the longer you leave the crack there the more dangerous it could become.

The treatment will be dependent on how extreme your case is, for example if only a small chip has occurred then your dentist may be able to target it with a small piece of enamel to cover things up. We often treat chipped teeth using crowns or veneers. 

However, if your tooth has cracked in half, then of course treatment will be more thorough and complex.

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