Broken Tooth

Do you have a broken tooth but are unable to immediately go to the dentist? While the tooth itself may not hurt, it may have sharp edges that bother your tongue. Dr. Fink demonstrates how you can smooth irritating sharp edges to provide temporary relief until you visit your dentist.

Hi. Today I want to talk about one of the most common emergency calls that we get at our office, when someone breaks a tooth. Below are a few pictures of how teeth can break. The corner of a tooth will often come off which leaves a sharp edge on the tooth.

 

These sharp edges are annoying to your tongue. It may not be deep enough to hurt or cause pain in the tooth, but that tongue is always moving. Your tongue moves when you talk and swallow. It even moves around just to figure out what is going on in your mouth. When it finds something like a sharp edge on a tooth, the tongue often will not leave it alone and within hours you have a sore tongue. That is an emergency. It is urgent. It is immediate. Sometimes, it is not convenient where you can come and have us do anything. I want to talk about what you can do at home.

Temporary Home Remedy

Whenever a patient calls in with this type of situation, I recommend for them to file it down with a nail file. With the fingernail file you can take that file on that sharp edge of the tooth. Within a few strokes, that sharp edge is a rounded edge making the tooth feel so much better. Most people have a fingernail file at home. While I did use a metal nail file in my demonstration, any nail file will work.

Another nail file you may also have is a fingernail emery board, which is like a piece of sandpaper. The advantage with emery board files is you can bend them a bit. This allows you to come from the front but have the file turn so you are coming from the front and not have to poke that fingernail file through your cheek to get at it.

It has worked well for many of our patients to get some relief until they can come in. This is only a temporary solution. You should come in because the broken tooth is still going to need attention. Give us a call at 602-942-4260 or REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT with us today!