What do I do if I break a tooth?

One of the most frequent incidents in the life of a child or adolescent, and which can also occur in adulthood, is the fracture of a tooth: a simple fall, a trip, or a 'ball' to the face or mouth are more than enough reasons to fracture a tooth.

Depending on the severity of the trauma, the extent of the fracture... and a host of factors that only an experienced and professional dentist can accurately and adequately assess, we will need to solve the problem with a more or less complex treatment.

In any case, in this post of our blog, which focuses on patients in the Region of MurciaWe would like to point out today that, in most cases, the simplest solution will be the most effective, both for the professional and for the patient, who should always enjoy maximum aesthetics despite a setback of this type.

In this case, we are dealing with an adolescent patient who, while playing sport, suffered a small blow that resulted in a fracture of the edge of one of his upper central incisors (known as 'paletas' or 'paletos').

A typical case of uncomplicated fracture

To solve this, it is decided to restore with a composite, i.e. a resin like the one we use to make fillings, but with special aesthetic characteristics that allow us to guarantee the success of our restoration.

First, we lightly polish the surface to achieve a bevel which, by increasing the contact surface, ensures that our restoration remains firmly in place for a long time.

We suggest to our patient's parents that the aesthetic result, after polishing, is acceptable, because the tooth is rotated, but they still decide to reconstruct the lost area.

We etched the surface with 37% orthophosphoric acid for 40 seconds to condition the tooth.

After etching, the treated surface takes on a 'chalky' appearance, indicating that the tooth is ready to continue, so we place a small transparent 'matrix' that separates it from the adjacent teeth.

We use a two-step liquid adhesive to ensure maximum retention of the restoration to the tooth, which we apply with a small brush. Once the second step has been applied, we polymerise this surface with a dental light.

To restore this case we opted for a Ceram-X composite from Dentsply, which offers the possibility of making aesthetic restorations in a simple and effective way, without the need for a wide range of colours, thanks to its extraordinary mimicry, which allows 16 shades of colour to be covered with only 7 types of composite. — To restore this case we opted for a composite. Dentsply Ceram-XThe new composite, which offers the possibility of creating aesthetic restorations in a simple and effective way, without the need for a wide range of colours, thanks to its extraordinary mimicry, which allows 16 shades of colour to be covered with only 7 types of composite.

The composite takes on a shade that is indistinguishable from that of the tooth, thanks to the extraordinary modelling properties of the composite, which allows a working time of more than two minutes.

Finally, after a simple polishing, the patient can return home with their dental anatomy intact, and enjoy their life as if nothing had happened.

In this way, we achieve excellent aesthetic results, as well as predictable and efficient mastication... so that the only thing left to be done for the dentist expert in aesthetic and cosmetic dentistry is to remind the patient of the importance of taking extra care the next time he/she does sport!