When a tooth has a large fracture in it, or a piece breaks off of its crown structure, then the need to fix the tooth as soon as possible might be obvious. If nothing else, the pain in the tooth may be enough to force you to seek treatment if only to alleviate it. While the symptoms and consequences of tooth damage aren’t always as obvious when the damage is minor, the threat to your tooth’s health and integrity can be just as serious.
Why it’s important not to ignore it
The pain that a damaged tooth might put you through can be substantial in certain cases, and alleviating it is an important part of restoring your tooth. However, the more important aspect of restoring your tooth is stopping the damage from getting worse. If it’s already significant, then any progression of the damage can put the tooth at a high risk of being lost or needing to be extracted. If the damage is minor, then there’s a good chance of addressing it and restoring the tooth before it has the chance to grow any worse and threaten more of your tooth’s structure.
Conservative options for tooth repair
For most cases of tooth damage, restoring the tooth is often a more conservative procedure than patients expect. For example, in cases of severe damage, the tooth might be saved with a custom-designed dental crown, which can cap the tooth and prevent it from becoming more severely damaged. In milder or minor cases of tooth damage, restoring the healthy, undamaged tooth structure may not require as much dental work as you might expect. For instance, with minimally invasive tooth bonding, porcelain veneers, partial dental crowns, and other conservative restorations, we can often design a minimally invasive plan that restores and preserves a maximum amount of your natural tooth structure.
If the damage is allowed to get worse
The biggest problem with tooth damage of any degree is that, if given enough time, it will only grow worse and compromise more of your tooth and oral health. If the damage to your tooth becomes more severe, then your restorative treatment plan may need to be more involved. In severe cases, this may mean extracting what remains of the tooth structure and replacing it with a dental implant-supported crown. The implant and crown will replace your extracted tooth’s natural root and crown, allowing us to restore your smile and bite function with optimal results.
Learn how we can repair minor tooth damage
When the damage to your tooth is still minor, you have a good chance of repairing it with conservative, minimally invasive treatment. To learn more, schedule an appointment with us by calling Dreem Dentistry in Leawood, KS, today at 913-681-5500. We also serve patients who live in Overland Park and all surrounding communities.
