Never Take Your Healthy Teeth for Granted

You should do your best to learn all about proper dental care and dental issues that you want to do your best to avoid dealing with. One of the things that can happen to teeth is that they can become cracked. There are a lot of ways you can put yourself at risk of cracking one or more of your teeth. Luckily, there are also a variety of treatments available if you do end up with a cracked tooth. This article will go over cracked teeth so you are better prepared to both prevent them and to deal with them.

What can cause a tooth to crack?

Some people are more prone to cracked teeth than others, but it is important to understand that anyone can end up with a cracked tooth, especially if they aren't careful. Cracks and fractures can occur when an excessive amount of force is put on a tooth, or even when force is applied to it at the wrong angle and there is a weakness in the tooth already.

Some of the things that you can do that increase your chances of cracking one or more of your teeth include using them as tools to open packages or jars, using them to open the shells of hard nuts, chewing on ice cubes, eating hard foods, grinding your teeth in your sleep, clenching your teeth when you are stressed, and sometimes just biting into or chewing on regular food.

What happens when you have a cracked tooth?

There is always the possibility that you can have such a small fracture in your tooth that you don't even know it's there. However, this is not a good thing either, because it makes you highly susceptible to the possibility of a huge break in the future and it also leaves you at risk for all types of dental problems ranging from a cavity to a dying tooth.

Then, there is the possibility that a cracked tooth can be extremely painful. It can send sharp, shooting pains through your gums and jaw. It can make you extremely sensitive to hot and cold drinks and food. It can also cause you to have what feels like a normal toothache. If you experience any types of dental pain, it's always a very good idea to go in for an exam, because you never can really know for sure that you don't have a cracked tooth unless you have a dental exam, since they can be so thin and hard to visibly see. 

How do you care for a cracked tooth?

When you have a cracked tooth, the dentist will need to consider how bad it is and whether or not it can be saved. If it can be saved, they may use bonding, crowns, or veneers to fix the tooth. If it can't be saved, then you may be looking at having it removed completely and having it replaced with a dental implant.

Contact a dental office like Gallery Dental to learn more.