What happens if your tooth breaks off at gum line?

September 1, 2022

Other than dental decay and premature tooth loss, a broken tooth is among dentistry's top most common dental problems. Many emergency dentists concentrate on managing and treating the aftermath of a broken tooth.

Some of the problems that arise due to tooth fractures are:

1. Frequent Dental Accidents: The uneven edges of the broken tooth will severely hurt your lips, inner cheeks, and tongue if you delay seeking treatment.
2. Dental Pain: Sometimes, the fracture on a tooth is deep enough to damage the pulp chamber that houses the nerve endings. Unless you seek urgent treatment, the result is unbearable pain that may necessitate constant pain medication to suppress the discomfort.
3. Tooth Loss: A compromised structural framework of a tooth increases its chance of falling off. Any pressure or exertion in your mouth can further damage the remaining portion of the tooth and cause tooth loss.

What Can Break a Tooth?

Teeth break under different circumstances, some more traumatic than others. While any of your teeth can break, the most common cases of tooth fractures affect the front teeth and molars.

Front teeth often break due to dental-related injuries. For example, if you incur excessive force on your face, you are more likely to break your front teeth than the rest.

Causes of a Broken Molar

Even though molars are firmer and more stable than the rest of your teeth, they can still get broken.

Some of the factors that lead to broken molars are:

1. Age: The older you get, the weaker your teeth become. Many molars begin to incur several cracks at age 50 and older.
2. Biting and Chewing Hard Foods: Such as popcorn kernels, candy, or ice.
3. Bad Oral Habits: Such as opening lids and cans with your teeth, gum chewing, or ice chewing.
4. Large Dental Fillings or a Root Canal: These restorations weaken the tooth structure, potentially causing chips and cracks.
5. Teeth Grinding (Bruxism): Excessively grinding your teeth when you sleep is sufficient to break your molars and even the front teeth.

What is the Best Way to Fix a Broken Tooth?

An emergency dentist near you will employ various dental protocols that can fix a broken tooth. The treatment usually depends on the type of tooth fracture, the location, and its severity.

The best way to fix a broken tooth is:

1. Composite Bonding: A cosmetic procedure in dentistry that restores
2. Tooth Filling: The filling material of choice can repair the damaged portion of your tooth while sealing it to prevent the entry of bacteria to the inner layers.
3. Root Canal Treatment: This a necessary treatment for tooth fractures causing severe dental pain and inflammation.
4. Tooth Extraction: Although dentists at The Art of Dental Wellness like to reserve tooth extractions as the last option, it may be the best treatment option for your broken tooth. Dentists often consider tooth extractions when there is significant tooth breakage, damaging most of the tooth enamel.

What Happens if You Break a Tooth at the Gum Line?

A tooth chipped at the gum line must be handled differently from a typical tooth fracture. You may suffer many other dental problems when the damage is too close to or underneath the gum line.

Some of the issues likely to occur if you break a tooth at the gum line include:

1. Bleeding gums
2. Excruciating tooth pain
3. Swollen and tender gums
4. Severe tooth sensitivity
5. Abscessed tooth

Can A Tooth Broken at the Gum Line Be Saved?

Fortunately, emergency dentists can treat and save a broken tooth, even if the damage is too close or at the gum line. However, the viability of your tooth depends on how quickly you get treatment after the fracture and how severe the damage is.

If too much of your tooth structure is damaged, your dentist may recommend a different treatment option. The sooner you get treatment after you break off your tooth, the higher the chances of saving it.

Either way, your dentist will offer an ideal solution to save or replace your tooth to benefit your oral health.