Why Did My Tooth Break?

Our Smile Design Dentists throughout Tampa Bay and Central Florida often see patients for the first time when they have an emergency dental issue like a broken tooth. We welcome anyone who has an urgent dental need to give us a call.

Sometimes there has been an obvious blow to a tooth due to an accident or sports injury. Other times, the reason isn’t so obvious. There are multiple factors that can weaken a tooth until an occlusal surface chips or a noticeable break occurs. The tooth structure may have been weakened by a cavity. If a filling was large, the tooth enamel around the filling could be too thin to withstand the constant wear and tear of biting and chewing. Your tooth enamel may be crazed with fine fractures due to the even greater forces of bruxism (involuntary nighttime teeth grinding). Malocclusion may cause some of your upper and lower teeth to interfere with each other when you eat. Just as in the case of bruxism, the added stress of tooth-on-tooth impact and grinding can result in crazing and worn down enamel. Even chewing soft food can cause a tooth to break if the tooth’s surface has been sufficiently weakened.

If you experience a broken tooth, we invite you to give us a call, and we will schedule you at a Smile Design Dentistry location convenient to you. A fracture that leaves your tooth in pain constitutes an urgent situation so call us immediately. If the tooth is not painful, its sharp edge will likely be uncomfortable to your tongue, inside of your cheeks, or lips, so you will want an appointment soon.

Do not let a broken tooth go untreated. The damaged area will be susceptible to tooth decay. Untreated cracks and chips can lead to teeth breaking off at the root, which is an extremely painful condition requiring emergency root extraction. Depending on the condition of your broken tooth, you may need a crown or extraction followed by replacement with a bridge or implant crown. If your tooth is only slightly chipped, bonding or a porcelain veneer may be all you need.

For urgent attention, contact us today!