That moment you are about to eat your favourite candy and it feels like, not again with this sharp pain.
Yes, it could be caused by lack of dental hygiene or at times by tooth cracks.
Tooth cracks can be caused by man-made actions or accidents. The result is usually a pain, if not properly cared for transits into bad breath and mouth infection.
Cracked tooth is a break in your tooth when something damaged it. It may be caused by tripping over or other accidents.
Most times, the crack usually causes pain and even affects our confidence.
Reaching out to a dentist is the best recommended advice. However, you can decide to take a personal treatment and naturally heal it.
If it’s your first time of hearing about cracked tooth, or you currently have an experience with it, this article aims to serve you with everything you need to know about cracked tooth.
What is Cracked Tooth
Cracked tooth, also known as fractured tooth or cracked tooth syndrome (CTS) is a break in your tooth as a result of damage by objects, accidents etc. Like they say, for every cause, there’s surely an effect, cracked tooth causes mild to severe pain if precautions are not taken.
A crack in your teeth usually affects either the upper front teeth or back of the lower jaw.
What are the signs and symptoms of a cracked tooth.
- Sharp pain when eating.
- Sensitivity to temperature (When you are eating cold or hot food).
- Swelling around the tooth.
- Toothache ( when chewing or biting).
- Discolouration: Changes in the colour of the teeth.
- Bad breath.
- Visible crack.
Causes of cracked tooth
- Age: Individuals above 50 are likely to have a cracked tooth.
- Chewing and biting of hard foods, E.g Candies, Chocolates etc.
- Teeth grinding : When excessively grind your teeth.
- Accidents : You could fall or unknowingly hitting hard objects on your tooth.
General precautions to avoid tooth cracks.
- Avoid eating hard foods.
- Use of mouth protective equipment while carrying out some tasks or while playing sports.
- Dental hygiene ( Use of soft toothbrush, avoid pricking your teeth etc.)
- Watch out for foods like Candies, almonds, dried fruits, nuts, citrus, popcorn, Ice etc.
Just like I have said earlier, the recommended advice is to reach out to a dentist for proper care. However, you can naturally ease the pain at the comfort of your home.
Cases of tooth cracks
- Fractured cusp.
- Split tooth.
- Vertical root fracture.
- Hairline cracks.
How to fix a cracked tooth
Dentists Care
Before we delve into the details of how dentists fix tooth cracks, it’s important to know that tooth crack might not be fully restored due to the case of damage.
The fixing of cracks is dependent on;
- Crack size.
- Location.
- Symptoms.
- Severity
- Extension of the crack.
Dental Bonding
This is used for mild or minor chips crack. It makes use of a roughening agent that helps clean the enamel to allow application of resin. The aim is to strengthen the structure of the tooth.
Dental Crown
As it name implies crown, usually applied on the tooth enamel to strengthen the structure. Applicable in cases of moderate to large cracks.
Porcelain Veneer
Apart from healing or restoring cracks, individuals would also love to retain or improve the appearance of their tooth. Porcelain veneer is placed on the tooth to beautiful and strengthen the tooth.
Tooth Extraction
For severe cases of cracks, Dentists might recommend extraction. The process is carefully carried out with application of anaesthetic to ease the pain. A prosthetic tooth is then inserted to allow chewing.
How to fix cracked tooth naturally.
Naturally fixing cracked tooth won’t restore the tooth, it only eases the pain and discomfort.
- Peppermint Tea Bags
Boil the tea bags in water, allow it to cool and place on the cracked tooth to relief pain.
- Salt and Water
Apply little quantity of salt to warm water, pour in your mouth and swerve the mixture for thorough distribution around the tooth.
- Garlic
Crushed garlic cloves and water is mixed to form a paste. It is then applied on the cracked surface and repeated at intervals.
- Clove Oil
Due to natural ingredients present in clove oil, it is recommended for cracked tooth healing. Apply the clove oil on a cotton wool and place on the fractured tooth, rinse with warm water afterwards.
- Guava leaves
Boil guava leaves in water, wait till it cools to apply on the tooth using cotton wool or ball.
- Turmeric paste.
Mix tumeric powder in little quantity of water to form a paste. Apply gently on surface, leave for few minutes and rinse afterwards.
- Green Tea
Phytochemicals like polyphenols are present in Green Tea. They possess antiinflammatory properties and can be used to heal crack pain.
Just like toothache, tooth cracks has to be properly cared for to avoid infection. Usually if a crack is not taken of, causes a gap that can breed bacteria and other microbes.
Also, more emphasis is laid on reaching out to Dentists and not solely on natural products.