Your teeth are the hardest substance in your body, thanks to their enamel coating made of calcium phosphate (the same chemical found in rocks and bones). The enamel protects the underlying dentin and nerve from damage. However, these hard tissues can still be prone to injury, decay, and wear that you can experience at some point in your life. If you look hard enough, you can see that many people have dental damage or Damaged Teeth such as cavities, tooth decay, and even bad breath.
When you have these problems, how can you know the best solution? Do you repair or remove? Here’s a simple guide to help you out:
When To Repair
There are some tooth damages that can be reversed or repaired. It’s best to save your tooth when you have these problems so you won’t need to use dentures or implants. If you have these problems, you can choose to repair your tooth:
- Chipped Or Broken Tooth
One way your teeth could get damaged is when you bite on something hard forcefully and it causes to be chipped. For chipped or broken teeth, the solution is to repair them. This particular tooth damage is relatively easy to fix. You may need to repair the damage by using veneers.
Veneers are made of either porcelain or resin material and are placed on the front part of the damaged tooth. Visit ariadental.net.au for procedures like this so you can address your chipped or broken tooth right away.
- Moderately Decayed Teeth
If you have moderately decayed teeth, there’s a chance that they can still be repaired. Your tooth decays when plaque builds up and turns sugar into acid, resulting in holes in the teeth. Dental plaque also affects your gums, leading to a dental abscess, a collection of pus inside your teeth. This bacterial infection could be excruciating and may even weaken and damage other teeth surrounding the affected one.
For moderately decayed teeth, the best option is to repair them through a root canal. When decay reaches the inner material of your tooth, the diseased tooth pulp is removed. Medication is sometimes put into the root canal to clear any infection, then the pulp is replaced with a filling. While undergoing the procedure, you’ll be under anesthesia as removing the soft center of the tooth and touching the connective nerves could be extremely painful.
- Heavily Discolored Teeth
Drinking coffee and heavy smoking could cause discoloration in your teeth. Medical treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy could also do the same. For heavily stained teeth, the solution, of course, is to repair them with professional whitening services. Aside from using bleaching solution, your dentist might also use heat and light to speed up the whitening process.
When To Remove
There are some tooth damages that can’t be reversed, and the only way to prevent further damage to other teeth or reduce the chances of infection is to remove the damaged tooth. If you have these dental problems, it’s best to remove the damaged tooth:
- Severely Decayed Teeth
When you have a severely decayed molar because of cavities, chances are it’ll affect the surrounding teeth. Some decays eat up a chunk of the tooth, leaving only a small part in place. If the tooth is beyond repair, you should have this removed because it can affect adjacent teeth and spread the cavities. Aside from that, unattended rotten teeth can lead to blood poisoning. This is because the rotten parts of the tooth are depositing into the mouth and swallowed with the saliva.
- Severe Dental Crowding
When there’s not enough space in the mouth for a tooth to properly come out, it overlaps another tooth, resulting in overcrowding. This affects your overall health because plaque build-up is evident, and your gums may often get bruised. The overlapping tooth may need to be removed. Mild to moderate overcrowding may be fixed by dental braces, but for a severely crowded mouth, removing some overlapped tooth may be the course of action to comfort the patient suffering from this.
- Impacted Tooth
Tooth impaction happens when one tooth pushes directly against another. This frequently occurs with a wisdom tooth. An impacted tooth is susceptible to infection, may cause tender, swollen, or bleeding gums, and is extremely painful. The only solution for an impacted tooth is to extract it.
Conclusion
Keeping your oral hygiene in check is part of your daily personal self-care routine. Good oral health care contributes to positive mental and emotional well-being. It also significantly contributes to your overall health as many diseases are connected to inadequate oral hygiene such as endocarditis, cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, and diabetes.
If you have damaged teeth, it may be confusing when to save them or when to remove them. It’s always best to ask a dental professional for their opinion regarding the matter. The information above is also a helpful guide to give you an idea of when to repair or remove damaged teeth.
