What is Considered a Dental Trauma

To get the proper treatment for dental trauma, you need to know whether you have this condition. Our Innovative Endodontics team has created this guide to help you understand what is considered a dental trauma.

What Types of Injuries Count as Dental Trauma?

Dental trauma takes many forms – cracks, breaks, knocked-out teeth, and dislodged teeth. Anything that damages the structure or placement of the tooth can fall under the category of dental trauma.

Some of the most common types of dental trauma include the following:

Cracked Teeth

Cracked teeth can occur suddenly or subtly. Injuries or long-term damage can crack teeth, especially if they’ve already had dental work or due to the aging process. 

One form of subtle crack development occurs in people who grind their teeth while they sleep. They may have headaches or jaw discomfort, but not always discomfort in one tooth. This vague discomfort in their jaw may lead them to get a dental exam. During the evaluation, X-rays may reveal a crack in a tooth caused by grinding.

Most often, cracks in the teeth happen from a sudden injury. Sports injuries, car accidents, bike accidents, and fights can crack or break teeth.

Another cause of cracking is failing to get root canal-treated molars covered with a crown. The crown provides extra protection for the tooth. Having multiple fillings or large fillings in a tooth can also compromise the tooth enough to crack.

Other common causes of cracked teeth include:

• Chewing on ice or biting down on hard foods
• Using your teeth to open bottles or packaging
• Being over 50 because teeth can weaken with age
• Untreated teeth grinding

Cracked teeth need treatment because the crack can increase in size over time from a treatable issue to a large problem that requires you to have an extraction. The sooner you see an endodontist for a cracked tooth, the better the chances are of saving the tooth.

Broken Teeth

Broken teeth happen for many of the same reasons as cracked teeth, but part of the tooth separates from the rest. Broken teeth require similarly prompt treatment to increase the likelihood of saving the tooth.

Get to an endodontist as soon as possible for treatment.

Dislodged or Knocked-Out Teeth

Dislodged teeth get pushed into the gums, whereas knocked-out teeth fall out of the mouth. For the latter, find the tooth and place it in milk or saliva on the way to the dentist for treatment. If you get the tooth replaced within half an hour, you have a better chance of saving it.

For most people, these types of injuries happen from sports injuries or accidents.

Treatment for Dental Trauma

The treatment for dental trauma depends on the type of injury you have. However, most types of injuries require endodontic treatment due to damage to the pulp inside.

If you got treatment for a dislodged or knocked-out tooth from an emergency dentist, they likely splinted the tooth to hold it in place for a couple of weeks to stabilize the tooth. After it starts to heal, an endodontist needs to examine the injured tooth to see if the pulp sustained injury. If it did, you’ll need a root canal to save the tooth.

Other types of dental trauma also require endodontic care. Cracked or broken teeth may need non-surgical root canals to repair or endodontic surgery. The endodontist will determine the correct treatment based on the extent of the damage. However, some types of injuries, such as cracks that start from the root and move vertically upward, may not be treatable.

Will I Lose an Injured Tooth?

Whether you lose the injured tooth depends on several things:

• Type of injury
• If damage occurred below the gumline for cracks and breaks
• The time you took before getting treatment
• Previous dental treatment or work on the tooth

For example, if you don’t get a knocked-out tooth replaced by an emergency dentist within an hour, your chances of the tooth successfully fitting back into your mouth diminish. Similarly, if you have a cracked tooth and wait too long to see an endodontist, the crack could propagate until even the best endodontist care cannot preserve the tooth.

The faster you get treatment for any dental trauma, the greater your chances of saving your natural tooth are.

How to Prevent Future Dental Injuries

To prevent future dental trauma, you need to do everything possible to protect your teeth from sudden injuries and long-term wear.

First, if you grind your teeth, consider wearing a dental night guard to cushion your teeth overnight and protect them from slowly developing cracks.

Second, if you have habits of chewing on ice, crunching on hard candy, or using your teeth to open containers, stop. The longer you continue these habits, the higher your risks are of cracking or breaking a tooth.

Third, follow all instructions from your dentist or endodontist concerning treated teeth. For example, if your endodontist does a root canal on a molar and tells you to get a crown, do so as soon as possible. Root canal-treated molars can crack due to the pressure exerted on them from typical biting and chewing. A crown strengthens the tooth and prevents future damage. Similarly, if you have large or multiple fillings in a tooth, take care not to use that tooth to bite down on hard foods to avoid cracking it.

Finally, whenever you play contact sports, wear a mouthguard to protect your teeth. This small device can keep the teeth in place and protect them from getting dislodged or knocked out.

Unfortunately, you cannot prevent all forms of dental trauma, such as injuries that occur in car accidents or other unexpected incidents. Knowing what to do and the importance of getting prompt treatment in these cases can lessen the chances of losing a tooth from the injury.

Do You Have an Injured Tooth? Visit Innovative Endodontics for an Evaluation

When you have a traumatic injury to a tooth, there is a high chance of damage to the pulp. You may need a root canal or endodontic surgery to save the tooth. See our compassionate team at Innovative Endodontics for an evaluation to find out the best treatment for your injured tooth. Call us today to set up an appointment.