Some tooth concerns warrant more attention than just a good cleaning and flossing by your dentist. While routine dental cleanings can alleviate some minor dental aches and pains by removing plaque build-up and protecting your tooth enamel, when it comes to severe cracks and infections in the tooth or below the gum line, it may be time to consider more in-depth attention from your dentist.
No one likes to go through tooth or jaw pain. It disrupts just about every part of your life and can have a ripple effect on your overall health if not addressed timely and appropriately. You may notice that your tooth pain causes you to chew differently or avoid eating and chewing more often, resulting in increased strain and pain in your temporomandibular joints and jaw muscles. The pain from the sensitivity to hot and cold can decrease your fluid intake and even cause headaches and interrupt your ability to sleep. Plus, the infection itself can create not just pain but more severe damage to the pulp, roots, and nerves of your teeth and may even spread to other teeth or your gums.
Pull Your Tooth or Save It – Which is best?
At Boger Dental, our caring team has decades of experience providing restoration and relief for all stages of your toothache. We believe that saving the tooth is the priority as natural teeth are stronger, provide stability to other teeth and their overall alignment, and play a significant part in our Plymouth patients’ self-confidence. Plus, saving your natural teeth will often mean less pain and fewer dental visits, saving you time and money.
When you come to us with a toothache caused by cracks, breaks, or infections, we will assess your specific situation and create a plan that prioritizes you and your natural tooth. In many cases where your tooth is badly decayed or damaged, we can save the tooth by utilizing gentle root canal treatment. In patients needing more structural support and long-lasting protection due to severe decay, we can implement dental crowns. In extreme cases where you have a major or high-risk infection or an impacted or severely damaged tooth, you may benefit most from tooth extraction.
Saving Your Tooth
Typically, cracked or broken teeth result from an injury to your mouth or cavities that are not addressed and weaken the tooth. In such conditions, the dental issues are considered mild to moderate, and our dentists here at Boger Dental can provide restorative dentistry procedures that save and even strengthen your tooth. By utilizing gentle root canal treatment and dental crown options, you will experience faster relief and recovery than you would with a tooth extraction. Let’s take a look at what these options entail.
Root Canal
A root canal is a procedure that removes the pulp (nerve) of the tooth, safely clears any infection or debris, and then seals the tooth to protect it from further infection or decay. It is much less invasive than extraction and is performed by your dentist in their office using a local anesthetic to numb the tooth and surrounding area. For your comfort during your procedure, we also offer sedation options, including laughing gas, oral sedation, and IV sedation.
Many people shudder at the mention of a root canal, but that doesn’t have to be your experience with Boger Dental. We respect you and will listen carefully to your needs to ensure you are as comfortable as possible at all points in your treatment. We offer spa services, warm towels, and other relaxing amenities to help you maintain your dental health in an environment where you can feel comfortable and in control.
Dental Crowns
A dental crown is a custom-made tooth cap that completely covers a chipped, cracked, or damaged tooth. Crowns can be made from many different materials but are most commonly ceramic and milled out of solid blocks of porcelain to match the shade and color of your tooth. When you need more structural support and long-lasting protection from decay, dental crowns are the perfect restoration procedure.
To install a dental crown is a relatively simple process that consists of preparing the existing tooth by shaving off the enamel and reshaping the tooth to fit the tooth cap. Before and after it has been reshaped, a scan of your teeth is sent to the dental lab, where we will construct your permanent dental crown to ensure the best fit possible. After this step, you will receive a temporary crown made of acrylic to wear in the meantime. Once your customized crown is complete, it is cemented into place, fully encasing the visible portion of your tooth above the gum line.
Pulling Your Tooth
If your tooth is broken in multiple spots, becomes impacted, or is too weak from infection or decay to be restored and saved, extraction is the only option left to correct the concerns and prevent further complications from arising.
Extractions are a safe and standard dental procedure that is also performed under local anesthesia or with one of our other sedative options, laughing gas, oral sedation, and IV sedation for your comfort. Before extracting the tooth, your dentist will evaluate your medical and dental history and take x-rays to assess your tooth’s length, shape, and position and the surrounding bone to determine the best way to remove the tooth. Then, they will anesthetize the tooth and surrounding gum tissue, loosen the tooth, and remove it with dental forceps. Depending on the tooth and the size of the space left, you may receive sutures to help the gum tissue heal correctly and keep debris from getting trapped in the pocket.
For answers to all of your dental questions, trust Boger Dental
You’ll notice the difference the moment you walk into our conveniently located Plymouth office. For almost half a century, people around Minneapolis-St. Paul remember us for delivering personalized, family-friendly dentistry in a comfortable and relaxed setting.
Whether you need a root canal, a crown, or an extraction, you can achieve your best smile and top oral health – we can help. Give us a call today to schedule your appointment with our expert team at Boger Dental. Your comfort is our top priority, so enjoy your visit more with our comfort amenities.