Broken molar. What to expect!!!?!
Question: I had been experienceing headaches and a slight ache in my upper jaw, last night i decided to look and see if i have a bad tooth. sure enough I have a molar on the upper left side of my mouth with a good size break in it. I can't tell if it goes all the way down as it is right against another tooth. I am going to the dentist, in a couple days. What do they do for deep breaks.
Answers: I had been experienceing headaches and a slight ache in my upper jaw, last night i decided to look and see if i have a bad tooth. sure enough I have a molar on the upper left side of my mouth with a good size break in it. I can't tell if it goes all the way down as it is right against another tooth. I am going to the dentist, in a couple days. What do they do for deep breaks.
Ok, well depending on how bad it is... either they will be able to clean it and put a crown on it OR if it is really bad they may have to do a root canal. I had something like that happen to me. I had a filling 10 years earlier and no pain in my tooth. One day it just broke in half. Well, a cavity had grown in an air pocket from the filling 10 years before and worked its way out to the sides. I needed a root canal because of it. It all depends on why the tooth broke and how deep the damage is. Good Luck.
Possible fixes, depending on severity of problem and health of supporting bone:
- drill and fill
- drill, place an insulating, sedative liner then fill
- drill, fill, porcelain crown
- root canal then porcelain crown
- remove the tooth if the fracture goes down the root
All treatments should be preceded by an x-ray and thorough exam of the tooth to determine the extent of the damage and to determine if the nerve is involved.
You can expect a root canal and crown, or extraction. If the tooth is worth saving they will try a root canal and crown it. Get in soon or you will begin to feel pain like you never have.
When you first go to the dentist, if you have not been there before, he or she will get a health history on you and find if you are allergic to any medications such as antibiotics or local anesthetics. Next, the assistant will take an x-ray of the tooth to see if there is anything going on at the root (apex) of the tooth and check to see if there is any decay present. If there is a lesion on the root, he/she will more than likely refer you to an endodontist who specializes in root canal therapy. If he is capable, the dentist you are seeing may perform the root canal. If the bone level around the tooth looks questionable, if the tooth is sevely decayed, or if money and time are an isue, then in the worse case, an extraction may be necessary. If there does not appear to be a lesion at the root and if decay is not extensive, then he will procede to numb the area, use a high speed drill to removed the decay, shape the tooth and place a new filling which could be either a medicated temporary filling or permenant filling. If there is not a lot of tooth structure left, he may prepare the tooth for a temporary crown. Please be careful if letting a general dentist perform an endodontic procedure especially on a back molar. He or she may do it perfectly; however, if not done perfectly, then you may have wasted a lot of money and still have to have the tooth extracted. A specialist may be more expensive, but sometimes worth the extra cost in the long run. Hope this helps and good luck!!