Do you think that losing your teeth is a natural part of the aging process?

Tooth loss is not a normal and unavoidable part of aging. Your teeth are intended to last a lifetime and with good oral care and professional dental services they can.

The fallacy that losing your teeth is a natural part of aging originated from an era when routine dental procedures to prevent tooth loss were not generally practiced or as available as they are today. The truth is that bad oral hygiene habits, wrong diet and neglecting to see your dentist for regular dental services has way more to do with tooth loss than growing older does.

Tooth root decay develops more quickly as we grow older, but fortunately frequent fluoride treatments minimize this risk along with tooth cavities. The natural cleansing process of salivary production may slow down later in life causing more plaque build-up – making routine cleanings and dental procedures even more important. Professional dental cleanings also help to prevent periodontal disease or bone loss which is the number one reason why folks lose their teeth.

Dentists are available to give dental tips and to provide dental services that guard against tooth loss.

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Broken or Cracked Tooth

Any trauma to the mouth that causes bleeding and lacerations to the gums, tooth fracture and/or dislodging of teeth, may require immediate attention. If you take longer to see your dentist, it will reduce the chance of revival of the tooth.

Causes

Whether the result of an accident or biting on a piece of food that’s too hard, mouth injuries can cause teeth to become cracked, broken, or knocked out/dislodged. It is important to see a dentist because if left untreated, a dental emergency can lead to serious complications.

If the tooth is just chipped, you should make a non-emergency dental appointment to have it smoothed down and filled. If the tooth has been knocked out or is badly broken, see a dentist immediately. Find your nearest dentist who offers emergency dental appointments.

 

 

While you wait to see a dentist, you can follow these dental tips:

  • If you still have a knocked out tooth, handle by the tip of it (crown) and avoid touching the root. Do not scrape or brush the tooth. If that tooth is dirty, rinse with milk or salt water. The sooner a knocked-out tooth is reimplanted, the more likely it is to embed itself back into the gum. If you don’t want to be left with a gap, make an emergency appointment to see your dentist. Usually, your dentist will want to re-implant your tooth as soon as possible, ideally within an hour of it being knocked out. If you have already attempted this yourself, they will check that the tooth is in place correctly.

  • In case of lost tooth, most people will choose to have it replaced. Different dental treatments are adopted for tooth replacement. Your dentist can replace the tooth with a denture, a bridge or an implant.

  • If you have broken your tooth, do not try to re-implant the fragment back into your gum – store it in a clean container and cover the fragment with milk or saliva until you can see a dentist. It may be possible to reattach the broken fragment to the tooth. If you have broken a tooth halfway down and damaged the network of blood vessels and nerves in its centre (the pulp), root canal treatment will be needed to remove the damaged pulp from your tooth, as this can become infected. The space will then be filled and the tooth sealed with a filling or a dental crown.

Unlike broken bones, the crack in a tooth will never heal completely. It is still important that you get treatment. Our dental team at Expressions Dental™ will be able to tell you more about this problem and recommend treatment for a broken or cracked tooth.

 

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