A broken tooth that has a crack or split may be a scary and very uncomfortable thing. If a small portion of your tooth has broken off, keep it for the possibility of reattaching the tooth. If the tooth causes great discomfort, take an anti-inflammatory medication such as Ibuprofen. Ibuprofen can help relieve some of your symptoms.

Next, call your gentle and affordable dentist near me in Lincoln, NE at Northeast Lincoln Family Dentistry to set up your emergency appointment. You must see a dental provider immediately. Doing so can help you avoid additional breakage or infection. Together, you and your dentist will review all of your options to develop an excellent treatment plan.

The severity of the crack or break in your tooth will determine what steps happen next. If the tooth is severely broken, but a good portion of healthy tooth structure remains, your dentist will likely place a crown (cap) on the tooth.

A crown will guard your tooth against further damage. If you do not treat a broken tooth it can get worse. It can break off even more, to the point of being un-fixable. A crack in a tooth can become more significant if there is no crown in place for protection. It can get to the point of reaching the nerve and causing severe pain for what becomes a tooth that cannot be saved.

If your tooth has extensive decay and a cavity has reached the pulp of the tooth, root canal therapy may be performed. Once the root canal procedure is fully complete and all infection has been cleared from your tooth, a crown will be placed on your tooth to help prevent it from breaking. If your broken tooth has severe trauma or deep decay, and a root canal isn’t a great option, tooth extraction might be another option. Once the tooth is extracted, it would be replaced with an implant. Dr. Chris Sullivan and Dr. Kelsey Sullivan, at Northeast Lincoln Family Dentistry,  will be able to determine great options that benefit you.

The severity of the break in the tooth determines if the tooth is repairable and what measures it will take to fix it. If the tooth has enough natural tooth structure to support a restoration, a dental crown may be put in place over the existing tooth structure, which will help protect it. However, if the crack is to the nerve of the tooth or there is not enough stable tooth structure for the crown to hold on to, treatment is to extract the tooth and replace it with an implant.

You can protect a broken tooth with a crown (cap) that covers all surfaces of the tooth. A crown will stabilize the tooth and even biting forces over the tooth’s entire surface to protect the crack from worsening.

A broken tooth that does not receive treatment can get worse. Even worse, it can break off beyond the point of repair. The crack in the tooth can become more significant if there is no protection from a crown. It can also get to the point of reaching the nerve and causing severe pain for what becomes a tooth that cannot be saved.