I Have a Broken Tooth, What’s my Best Option?

If you suddenly have a tooth broken, you will no doubt be in shock. Then you realize you have a dental emergency. It is good to know what to do in case this happens.

First, rinse out your mouth with warm water to clean it. If you are still bleeding, but have not lost the tooth, apply pressure to stop it, preferably with gauze or a clean towel.

Then find a cold compress or use a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel and apply it to the outside of that part of your face, on and off every 15 minutes, which will help with pain and keep the injury from swelling. If you do not have an over-the-counter pain reliever with you,  ask the nearest business for some. If part or all of the tooth has been knocked out, preserve it in water, a saline solution, or milk.

Regardless, call Beverly Hills Dentistry for an emergency appointment if this occurred during practice hours. Otherwise, go to an urgent care center and call when we are open to come in for an exam as soon as possible. Most emergencies/accidents can be covered by dental insurance. 

If the tooth has a relatively small crack, it might be repaired with just a strong composite filling or durable silver amalgam. A larger one would require dental bonding, also made of composite resin.

A dental or porcelain veneer can be part of the solution after a tooth is broken, if the crack is on the front of the tooth, since our veneers are made of dental porcelain, which can be shaded to match the neighboring teeth and attached.

A dental crown made of cosmetic porcelain can be placed over a seriously fractured tooth and will hold it together and prevent further damage.

In cases where a tooth has been heavily damaged, it will be extracted and another potential option is a dental implant. The implant itself is a screw made of titanium, a biocompatible metal, which will be inserted into the empty socket and allowed to integrate with the jawbone for several months. Then it will be connected to a crown that will look exactly like the visible part of the tooth it is replacing and, with proper care, could be a permanent solution. This is one of our smile makeover options here at our Beverly Hills, Thousand Oaks locations. 

In some cases, such as a lack of adequate jawbone, the missing tooth can be replaced by an artificial version that looks exactly like what you lost. But instead of being inserted into the jaw, it is suspended over the socket and attached to the neighboring teeth by a dental bridge. This prevents the bite from misaligning, which is the natural reaction when a tooth is missing, unless replaced by an implant or prevented from moving by a bridge. 

If you are dealing with a broken tooth, you have options at Beverly Hills Dentistry. Whether you are in the valley, Thousand Oaks, or in surrounding areas of Los Angeles, we can help. Call us for an appointment or virtual consultation to discuss your treatment options.