Author: admin4downtown

When it comes to prosthodontics, San Diego patients can struggle with major issues like a cracked molar (back tooth.) Cracked molars aren’t uncommon, but you tend to hear about them less often than you do other types of dental emergencies, such as chipped front teeth.

Why Do Teeth Crack?

There are several reasons why a molar may crack or break. Some are preventable with early intervention, while others are not. Here are some of the most common causes that we see in our San Diego practice:

Large, untreated area of tooth decay.

Active cavities continually expand into the surrounding, healthy tooth structure unless they’re treated. While decay may not be painful, it doesn’t mean the cavity isn’t rapidly expanding. As cavities become large, the outer shell of enamel thins out and becomes especially brittle. Until one day, you bite down, and the molar cracks apart entirely.

Older, large amalgam filling that needs to be replaced.

Silver fillings are very useful for filling large cavities or teeth that are difficult to keep dry, such as molars. But over time, fillings may start to leak and pull away from the tooth. This process creates an open margin around the filling where bacteria can seep into the tooth. If the filling isn’t replaced or upgraded to a crown, it’s only a matter of time until the tooth cracks apart around the filling when you bite or chew.

Biting down on something hard.

Perhaps it’s a fork, a tongue piercing, or using your teeth as tools to open something. Biting down on an extremely hard object can easily cause severe tooth fractures or broken dental work.

How to Tell if Your Tooth is Cracked

Sometimes cracked tooth symptoms are extremely obvious, and other times they’re so subtle that it’s hard to tell whether a tooth is cracked or not.

Depending on the extent of damage to your cracked tooth, symptoms may or may not include:

When you visit Downtown Dental Specialty to check on your cracked tooth symptoms, we will take an X-ray and visually examine your tooth. But since some cracks in teeth are invisible to the naked eye, we will also use a special tool to have you bite down on certain points of the suspected tooth. This can help us pinpoint whether there is a hairline fracture somewhere in the tooth or tooth root.

First Steps if You Have a Cracked Molar

If you suspect that you have a cracked molar, it is extremely important not to chew on that side of your mouth. Otherwise, you could inadvertently damage the tooth and cause more tooth structures to break off or crack.

To help manage discomfort, we recommend taking Motrin (ibuprofen) as directed. The anti-inflammatory effects will help ease hypersensitive tooth nerves to reduce pain until you can seek out treatment.

Although it’s an aged analogy, cracked teeth can easily be compared to a “run” in an old pair of nylon stockings. Once it starts, it can easily grow and get out of hand.

Contact our office immediately if you suspect your tooth is cracked.

Cracked Tooth Treatment

The best treatment for cracked teeth will depend on how deep the crack is. If the fracture is limited to the crown (the portion of the tooth above the gums) our specialist may recommend a restorative porcelain crown over the tooth. The restorative crown will protect the compromised tooth and distribute biting pressure evenly, preventing additional breakage.

For cracks that extend deeper into the tooth structure or nerve, root canal therapy may also be required in addition to the crown.

Severe cracks that extend well into the root that cannot be restored are best managed by removing the tooth entirely and replacing it with a dental implant.

Prosthodontics San Diego

Downtown Dental Specialty offers advanced cracked tooth treatment in San Diego. If you’re experiencing cracked tooth symptoms, contact us as soon as possible. We offer advanced prosthodontics (San Diego) to help restore your smile, regardless of how extensive the damage may be.

New patients are always welcome. Contact us today.

Endodontic treatment—more frequently referred to as a root canal procedure—is a special type of dental service that helps preserve damaged or infected teeth. More often than not, you’ll need a root canal as a last line of defense before removing it altogether.

What is a Root Canal?

You can think of a root canal almost like a dental filling. Except with a traditional filling, voids/cavities in the top of the tooth are filled. In the case of a root canal, the filling material goes deeper inside the tooth to fill and seal off all of the empty nerve chambers running through the root structures. These sealed areas block any bacteria from re-entering the tooth.

Endodontic treatment removes the nerve tissues inside the tooth that is dying, traumatized, or infected. By performing a root canal, our endodontist (San Diego) can prevent the need to remove the tooth altogether.

When a cavity is limited to the outer layers of tooth, a filling or crown is usually more than adequate for treating the issue. But once the tooth’s nerve becomes involved, endodontic treatment is a must.

The Root Canal Procedure

Understanding how a root canal is performed can help put your mind at ease about the endodontic procedure.

What is a root canal, and how is it done? Essentially, we are removing the pulp tissues inside of a dying or abscessed tooth. When we take this step, we can preserve the surrounding tooth structure for several more years.

During a root canal, our San Diego dentist will carefully numb the tooth to prevent any discomfort during your procedure. If there is a severe infection or abscess, an antibiotic will reduce the inflammation leading up to your appointment to improve your comfort level.

After the tooth is completely numb, we create a small opening in the crown to access the nerve tissues. From there, the pulp is removed and the inside of the tooth is carefully cleaned, medicated, and sealed off.

Once your endodontic procedure is complete, we will need to place a crown over the tooth to protect the structure that’s left behind. Since your tooth no longer has a vital blood supply, it’s generally weaker and more prone to chipping. A crown will reinforce the remaining tooth so that you can continue biting and chewing normally.

After your root canal, there may be some minor tenderness where the local anesthetic was injected. An over-the-counter pain reliever such as Motrin is usually more than adequate. Because the nerve tissues are removed, the tooth cannot feel any discomfort after the endodontic procedure.

Do I Need a Root Canal?

Although toothaches usually accompany a tooth with nerve damage, some teeth never hurt at all. You may need a root canal if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms:

• Severe pain in a specific area of your mouth
• Sensitivity to hot temperatures (coffee, soup, etc.)
• Visible abscess or swelling on the gums
• Pain when you bite down
• A deep crack or cavity
• Fractured root
• Traumatic injury to the tooth
• Darkening of the tooth overall

Why not remove the tooth, you ask? Extracting an abscessed or decaying tooth creates added spacing between your teeth, leading to other teeth drifting out of alignment. Over the months ahead, the misaligned teeth will wear down irregularly, change how your TMJ functions, and even cause aesthetic concerns.

Endodontic treatment prevents added costs like tooth replacement or alignment therapy, minimizing the overall impact on your smile.

The only way to know for certain if you need a root canal or not is to have an X-ray taken of the tooth to see the full root structure and areas around it. If there are signs of an abscess or decay that has ruptured into the nerve chamber, a root canal will be necessary.

Visit Our Endodontist | San Diego

Downtown Dental Specialty provides comprehensive endodontic therapy in a gentle, relaxing atmosphere. If you’re struggling with a chronic dental abscess or toothache, specialized root canal therapy is the best way to save your smile.

Contact our San Diego office today to reserve an exam with our expert dental team.