What to Do About a Cracked or Missing Tooth

Two common problems we see at Fremaux Dental Care’s offices in Slidell, Louisiana, are cracked and missing teeth. Patients typically have concerns about the aesthetics of these issues, but that’s not the only reason you should visit us for an evaluation.

Cracked and missing teeth cause several other problems that can severely impact your dental health, including decay in a damaged tooth and bone loss in the jaw from which you’ve lost a tooth. Recent research published in the Journal of Endodontics also found that multiple missing teeth could increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Our highly skilled dentists have many years of experience evaluating cracked or missing teeth and offer several treatments to restore a complete, healthy smile. Here, we look at why you might have a cracked or missing tooth and what you can do to remedy the situation.

Why you might have cracked teeth

In addition to trauma and decay, several other things can cause teeth to crack. These include tooth wear (making cracks more likely after 50), biting on hard foods like candy or popcorn kernels, dental treatments such as large fillings or root canals, and bruxism (teeth grinding). There are several types of cracked or fractured teeth, including:

Vertical cracks

These cracks extend from the tooth’s biting surface to the gum line and sometimes below into the root. Severe cracks can split the tooth into two.

Craze lines

These are painless hairline cracks on the tooth’s enamel.

Fractured cusp

Cusps (the pointy bits of your teeth) can occasionally crack around a filling.

Vertical root fracture

Root fractures originate below the gum line and extend upward to the tooth’s surface.

Some cracks, like craze lines and fractured cusps, cause little or no pain, while severe fractures can be dental emergencies. Cracks significantly increase the risk of infection by allowing bacteria to enter the delicate pulp that’s filled with blood vessels and nerve endings inside the tooth. Abscesses may form and spread into your jawbone and face.

Missing teeth

Some people are born with one or more missing teeth (tooth agenesis), but most teeth are lost because of trauma or decay.

A severely cracked tooth might come out, or a collision could knock a tooth out of its socket. If your tooth falls out suddenly due to trauma, we might be able to put it back. You can try keeping it alive by placing it inside your cheek or in a container of milk while on your way for emergency dental treatment.

Often, we can save badly decayed teeth by performing fillings or root canal procedures, and we prefer to do this so you retain as much of the natural tooth as possible. But tooth decay is sometimes so severe that the tooth dies or is untreatable, and we must perform an extraction.

Treating cracked and missing teeth

Treatments for a cracked tooth vary depending on how severe the fracture is but include:

Bonding

Bonding involves filling in the cracks with a tooth-colored resin.

Contouring

Contouring is where we smooth out the rough edges, check your bite (how your teeth fit together), and then thoroughly polish your tooth.

Crowns

Porcelain or ceramic crowns are caps that we fit over a cracked tooth to protect it and restore its appearance. At Fremaux Dental Care, we offer CEREC® same-day crowns.

Veneers

Veneers are thin shells made of porcelain or plastic that we custom-fit over the tooth’s front surface.

As mentioned above, you might need a root canal procedure if your cracked tooth has infected pulp. This involves removing the pulp and all traces of infection, then filling the tooth and fitting a crown.

We also offer several solutions to missing teeth. The most common treatment for a single missing tooth is a bridge or dental implant. Bridges are replacement teeth that fill the gap and attach to the healthy teeth on either side with special crowns.

Implants are titanium posts that go into a hole drilled in your jawbone. The bone then grows around the post, securing it like natural tooth roots, and we fit a crown over the top. Another option is custom-fit dentures, particularly for multiple missing teeth.

If you have a cracked or missing tooth, visit our exceptional dentists, who will advise you on which treatments best suit your situation. Call to request an appointment or inquire online today.