I cracked a tooth but there's no pain, can it be repaired?

[mdb1983]

Hi, i'm new to the forum and i have a question if anybody can help.

I haven't been to a dentist in years..i'd say almost 10 years now but it's because i don't have any dental insurance.

But about 6 months ago, i bit into a bone really hard and it caused a small crack on my left centre front tooth. I thought it chipped off at first because it was quite loud when i bit into it. However, when i inspected it, it was still attached to my tooth but there is now a small crack there on the side and it looks like it's still attached. it didn't reach the gumline as the crack was below that and there's no pain since even when eating and brushing or flossing.

i've read about bonding and fillings that can repair it but would the dentist be able to use the small cracked part of the tooth to repair it or would he have to remove the rest of the cracked part? i'm going to pay out of pocket for it but i just want to know if these are the likely options..

 

[Dr M]

Good day

Firstly it needs to be determined if it is a part of the tooth that cracked or a part of an existing filling. I see a lot of patients that think they cracked a tooth, and then it was just a tooth coloured filling, which can be easily confused with tooth structure. An x-ray would then need to be taken in order to evaluate the nerve proximity to the crack. I have seen dentists that bond a part of a tooth back to the remaining teeth, if the piece is intact and there is adequate fit, but I personally believe that it can cause future problems. It might be necessary to follow the crack, to determine the depth, and if there is associated decay which have to be cleaned out, and once you start drilling, you will have to replace it with a filling.

Hope it helps

 

[mdb1983]

Good day

Firstly it needs to be determined if it is a part of the tooth that cracked or a part of an existing filling. I see a lot of patients that think they cracked a tooth, and then it was just a tooth coloured filling, which can be easily confused with tooth structure. An x-ray would then need to be taken in order to evaluate the nerve proximity to the crack. I have seen dentists that bond a part of a tooth back to the remaining teeth, if the piece is intact and there is adequate fit, but I personally believe that it can cause future problems. It might be necessary to follow the crack, to determine the depth, and if there is associated decay which have to be cleaned out, and once you start drilling, you will have to replace it with a filling.

Hope it helps

Good day

Firstly it needs to be determined if it is a part of the tooth that cracked or a part of an existing filling. I see a lot of patients that think they cracked a tooth, and then it was just a tooth coloured filling, which can be easily confused with tooth structure. An x-ray would then need to be taken in order to evaluate the nerve proximity to the crack. I have seen dentists that bond a part of a tooth back to the remaining teeth, if the piece is intact and there is adequate fit, but I personally believe that it can cause future problems. It might be necessary to follow the crack, to determine the depth, and if there is associated decay which have to be cleaned out, and once you start drilling, you will have to replace it with a filling.

Hope it helps

Hi, thanks for answering. i don't believe it's a filling because i don't remember getting a filling on my front tooth but i guess the dentist would be able to determine if it was or not when he sees it. like i said i don't have any pain associated with it and i looked at pictures of chipped tooths on the front centre and some look like that but rather than chipped, the tooth is still attached. i feel like the top half of the crack kept it from chipping off so that's why i thought maybe he could bond it to repair. it's been 10 years since i been to a dentist and my old dentist is now gone and doesn't have my records anymore..i hope this doesn't cause any problems..thanks for your advice

 

[Dr M]

Do you perhaps have a photo of the crack/ chip?

 

[mdb1983]

i apologize, i don't have the best camera. i tried more lighting but it's still had to see the crack. but i drew it in so you can see how it looks like from the drawing

https://imgur.com/mjc8fMC

https://imgur.com/oMhtWFI

 

[mdb1983]

Do you perhaps have a photo of the crack/ chip?

i took another picture with another camera. you can kind of see the crack now if you zoom

https://imgur.com/Aj3ycDx

https://imgur.com/oMhtWFIl

 

[Dr M]

Good day

It is difficult to judge from the photo. I am sure the dentist will be able to fix it adequately and it is good that luckily there is no pain.

 

[mdb1983]

Good day

It is difficult to judge from the photo. I am sure the dentist will be able to fix it adequately and it is good that luckily there is no pain.

Good day

It is difficult to judge from the photo. I am sure the dentist will be able to fix it adequately and it is good that luckily there is no pain.

thanks for the reassurance. i'm lucky that there was no pain too and i would have got it checked out 6 months ago when it first happened but then covid hit and they closed everything. i have diabetes so i had to avoid it for awhile too since i'm at high risk. i'm sure they will find something else too like plaque since it's been over a decade when i've last been to a dentist and i can only pay so much but i just want to deal with this issue first as i never had any other issues with my teeth before this. i've chipped small parts of a tooth before on my bottom but it was just a tiny bit. i also have a crown that kind of chipped too that i had years ago....again he will notice but i have to let him know i want to deal with this one at a time :/

 

[mdb1983]

Good day

It is difficult to judge from the photo. I am sure the dentist will be able to fix it adequately and it is good that luckily there is no pain.

just wanted to update that i went to the dentist finally. he said it was actually a filling that cracked which explained why it was somewhat whiter than the rest of my tooth too. i had no idea i had a front tooth filling but he said he can fix that with another filling next time. he also found a couple of more fillings as well as a lot of tartar they had to remove since it's been so long but other than that i don't have any gum recession and i'm not gonna need anymore serious treatment yet. i'm thankful being a diabetic i have avoided a lot of sweets and sugar