How Beau Monde Dental Care of Bristol treats and repairs damaged teeth.
Education about dental health is widespread and arguably at its peak. The effects of social media means that information and experiences can be shared and improvements can be made to a person’s overall oral health care regime. Despite this though, and the increasing knowledge and expertise of those working in the world of dentistry, sometimes breakage or chipping of a tooth can result from an accident that is unavoidable.
Whilst healthy teeth should stand up to the odd knock or two without breaking or chipping, some accidents will inevitably result in damage however well a person looks after their teeth.
Sporting accidents are perhaps the most common occurrence, but even unsuspected hard pieces of food such as a fragment of bone or even a rogue stone that makes its way into a loaf of bread can cause a tooth to chip or break unexpectedly.
Once the initial shock of the tooth breaking has subsided, we generally feel around our mouth with our tongue and our heart sinks as we feel a very rough or sharp edge where a smooth tooth once was. It can be tempting to just leave the tooth and see how it stands up rather than having it treated, but this is really a case of putting our head in the sand.
Any tooth that has been damaged will almost certainly have resulted in the enamel becoming broken and this then allows any sugars or bacteria to go directly to the softer inner part of the tooth where the nerves are situated. It goes without saying that, over time, this is likely to result in a rather bad toothache and the urgent need for emergency dental treatment.
A sharp edge on a tooth is also likely to result in scratches and cuts on the tongue which become uncomfortable when certain acidic foods are eaten.
Dental treatment for damaged teeth
At Beau Monde Dental Care, your local Bristol dentist, we encourage any patients who have suffered damage to a tooth to contact us as soon as possible to make an appointment. Where the damage is severe, we will do our best to find you a quick appointment to prevent unnecessary discomfort.
Initially, we will examine the damaged tooth, or teeth, at our modern dental practice using the latest technology. Where possible, we will try to ensure that you retain the maximum amount of your natural tooth. In many cases, all that will be needed is to have a dental filling, using our white dental filling material to keep your teeth looking good as well as repairing them.
If it is a front tooth that has been chipped badly and cannot be reconstructed with cosmetic bonding, then the best option may be to fit a dental veneer to the front surface. These veneers can be manufactured to be the same shade as your other teeth and so will not stand out as an obvious replacement.
In cases where the tooth has been badly broken, the best option is likely to be to use a dental crown to cap the tooth. This is done by preparing the tooth and then sending an impression of the tooth to a dental laboratory for the crown to be made.
On its return, the crown is then simply attached, using dental cement, to the prepared tooth and will leave you with a strong and functioning tooth.
Contact us
In the event of any damage to a tooth, speed is of the essence and we encourage you to contact our Bristol based dental practice as soon as possible after it has occurred to arrange an appointment. You can call us on 0117 330 3495 and one of our friendly reception team will make an appointment for you.