Dental injuries are hard to anticipate, and it can sometimes be difficult to know how you should respond to one. If your tooth is chipped but largely intact, is it an urgent problem? What should you do if an injury affects your ability to bite and chew? Sometimes, an injury that appears minor can lead to problems because it can lead to infection. However, in other cases trauma can only lead to cosmetic dental concerns. Our Santa Monica, CA dentist’s office has experience restoring teeth that are chipped, cracked, or otherwise damaged. If you feel that the situation warrants urgent care, we can make plans to see you for emergency dental work.
1. An Injury Can Require Emergency Treatment
If you think the problem with your tooth calls for emergency dental care, let your dentist know. An injury that is not treated can worsen over time, causing discomfort in addition to putting you at risk for losing the tooth. However, if the problem does not seem to be a concern for your oral health restoring it may be a matter of placing a dental veneer.
2. A Chipped Tooth Can Become More Damaged If It Is Not Addressed
One reason to take tooth trauma seriously is the potential for your enamel to suffer further damage. You can wind up with a more severe injury because the matter was not addressed. If you feel uncertain about your ability to put bite pressure on the tooth, you should treat the matter as potentially serious. Rather than simply ignoring the matter, look into having it treated before further harm occurs. It may be more difficult than you expect to fully avoid putting pressure on it, and you can wind up causing problems with your bite function if you modify it for an extended period of time.
3. Your Tooth Could Be Restored With A Dental Veneer
Not every dental injury results in urgent treatment or the placement of a permanent dental restoration. For people who only experience cosmetic problems because of an injury, it may be effective to provide cosmetic dental work. By affixing a porcelain veneer to a chipped tooth, your dentist can restore its general appearance, shape, and color.
Your Santa Monica, CA Dentist Can Help You If You Chip Your Tooth
It can be hard to know what you should do if you chip your tooth, but if you think the problem might require urgent attention, look into treatment as soon as possible. At Santa Monica Dental Arts, Dr. Koshki is able to restore the appearance of teeth affected by minor damage, but our practice is also here to handle problems that qualify as dental emergencies. Our Santa Monica, CA dentist’s office can be reached at 310-395-1261.
