Diagnosis and Treatment Options for a Cracked Tooth

Even though the enamel layer on your teeth is incredibly hard, there are rare instances when an accidental blow to the face or a hard fall can impact a tooth so much that it cracks. This kind of dental emergency can vary in its severity. How deeply the crack penetrates the tooth will determine the treatment options, your dentists in Boulevard Dental Arlington, Dr. Donghyun Kim and Dr. Jihyun Lee, recommend.

If the cracked tooth causes a sharp or persistent pain or a deep ache in the surrounding gums, it likely means that the crack has also caused damage to the internal structures of the tooth. Depending on the size and location of the crack, tooth can be fixed with a full coverage dental crown with or without a root canal treatment. In an extreme case, our dentists may recommend having the tooth extracted before restoring it with a dental implant.

Our Boulevard Dental Arlington team will examine the area and take a CBCT scan. That way, we can determine if you have sufficient bone structure to mount a dental implant. If the extraction process resulted in the loss of bone structure in the jaw, then we might recommend receiving a bone graft in advance of the implant procedure.

The dental implant procedure involves drilling a small channel into your jawbone. Then, a titanium post is screwed into place. Titanium is the metal of choice because it is biologically inert and will eventually fuse to your jawbone.

In time, the titanium post will fuse to your natural jawbone and Dr. Donghyun Kim and Dr. Jihyun Lee can go about the standard practice of installing a crown onto the titanium post.

If one of your teeth has been cracked, damaged, or extracted, you should call us at 360.653.5197 to schedule an appointment and talk about your treatment options at Boulevard Dental in Arlington, Washington.