The most common reason for teeth to get broken or chipped or even dislodged is sports injuries. Generally if the injuries are minor, they just result in minor chipping or cracking but the more serious ones can even cause a tooth to come loose and eventually fall out.
The most common sports injuries happen to those who engage in contact sports like rugby, boxing etc. Dentists often suggest a precautionary measure like a custom- fitted mouth guard for the player. However, even in other sports like cricket, football, hockey etc. sustaining dental injuries is not uncommon and it happens to players of all ages both children and adults.
Our dentists at The Dental Hub who work specifically with dental trauma and injured teeth, will provide a thorough examination of the teeth so as to give you a true picture of how the teeth have suffered damage and what is the course of treatment to be followed.
Depending on the nature and the extent of the damage caused by the sports injury, the dentist will determine a course of action. For example, if the tooth is chipped but the chipped piece is with the patient, it may be just simply reattached and cemented in place. However, if more severe damage has occurred and the tooth crown has broken off, capping or an artificial covering for the crown may need to be made.
Due to a blow to the teeth caused in a sports injury, one or more teeth may become pushed into or out of place from the original tooth socket. Our expert dentists will reposition and stabilize the tooth/teeth that have moved away from their space. Root canal treatment is reserved for permanent teeth that have gotten dislodged and the treatment is begun many days after the injury so as to allow the teeth to align naturally from chewing, speaking and biting.
If a tooth is knocked out of the mouth completely but has been retrieved, an immediate dentist consultation may be able to restore that same tooth in the gap with the help of dental splints. In case the tooth is missing, an artificial tooth will need to be made and put into the gap.