Although teeth are naturally resilient, they can face some problems like gum disease and tooth decay. These types of dental problems can badly damage your tooth. In the worst case scenario, you may even lose them!
However, there are some external dangers that can injure your teeth as well. Fortunately, there are treatments available which can help fix them and can decrease the chance of losing them. It is best to frequently visit your dentist for a regular checkup. Some of the common dental injuries are as follows:
Fractured or Chipped Teeth
Your tooth can be fractured easily especially during sports (when receiving an abrupt blow to the face). A report by the National Youth Safety Foundation says that if athletes don’t wear mouth guards for some sports, they have a 60 percent more chance of damaging their teeth. Moreover, these kinds of injuries can cause many severe problems.
There are two types of cracks. One is in the enamel, which is not very risky. The second is a crack in the tooth that starts from the crown and extends downwards. This type of crack is risky and needs to be treated.
Symptoms
- You feel pain while biting down.
- A pain that is not constant.
- Feeling pain while drinking or eating, especially when you are consuming cold or hot foods.
- Losing the enamel shell that exposes the pulp and dentin.
A cracked tooth can’t be seen with the naked eye – it can only be discovered during your dental checkup. There is a possibility that you’re not experiencing pain as well.
Fractured Roots
A dental injury caused by playing sports may not always be to the crown of the tooth. It is also a possibility that a blow can fracture the roots of the teeth. Actually, a crack starts in the root and travels in an upward direction. These fractures can only be discovered during a dental checkup or when the infection develops. The severity of a root fracture depends on the location of the crack. In this case, we recommend you get root canal therapy before the infection appears and leads to tooth loss.
Tooth Intrusion
In most sports injuries, the teeth get knocked out. However, there is also a chance that your teeth drive back to the jawbone. This type of trauma is called intrusion. This type is most common with kids whose bones are not strong enough yet.
Tooth intrusion complications
- Chances of permanent damage and destruction of the tooth pulp.
- There is a possibility of root resorption in which up to 70 percent of the teeth are permanently damaged.
- There is a chance of ankylosis in which the roots of the injured tooth fuse with the alveolar bone.
The tooth injuries received during sports can be permanent if they are not treated immediately. So, if you experience any blows in sports, we highly recommend you visit your dentist for a proper checkup. Your dentist will let you know what the next steps are.