The cause of a cracked filling may occur for many reasons, such as chewing too hard, grinding your teeth, clenching teeth together, and so on. Older fillings sometimes need reinforcement — they do wear out as they age. When you discover that you have cracked a filling in your mouth, naturally you’ll need to get it taken care of right away.
What causes a broken filling?
This can allow bacteria to move underneath the filling, causing tooth decay and even recurrent caries. This tooth decay can loosen the filling, causing a broken filling. Any trauma or injury to the head, face, or mouth can cause a broken filling.
Why does my pie crack when it cooks?
When the cracks in your pie are caused by an issue with the amount of time that the pie is being cooked, whether that is in the oven or whether that is because of internal heat continuously keeping the inside of the pie hot, you should aim to include this extra time in the total cooking time that the pie will take.
What causes pain around fillings?
There are several explanations for pain around fillings, each resulting from a different cause. Pain when you bite or touch you teeth together. This type of pain occurs when you bite down. Pain to hot or cold.
What causes dental fillings to wear away?
Constant pressure from chewing, grinding, or clenching can cause dental fillings to wear away, chip, or crack. Although you may not be able to tell that your filling is wearing down, your dentist can identify weaknesses in your restorations during a regular check-up.
Is it normal for a filling to crack?
Dental fillings are incredibly strong and meant to be permanent, but life happens. It is not uncommon for one to pop, crack, or fall out due to wear and tear. Day after day, dental fillings get quite a workout as you eat, drink, grind, or clench your teeth. All this activity can cause a broken tooth filling.
What to do when a filling cracks?
If a filling cracks or falls out, it may be considered an emergency. Once at the dental office, the patient's medical history, a thorough examination of the tooth, and an X-ray that will be taken can help to determine the ideal treatment option. If possible, the dentist will just replace the dental filling.
Can a cracked filling be repaired?
Broken dental fillings can be fixed, and the sooner you can get in to see a dentist, the more comfortable you will be.
Can tooth crack during filling?
Cracks can sometimes occur right after the filling is placed if the filling is higher than the rest of the tooth surface. The force of biting can cause a lot of impact on the raised portion of the filling. Cracks also can occur over time, as biting and chewing forces wear on the filling and the restored tooth.
How long can you leave a cracked filling?
Is it Serious? Most of the time, a lost filling is not considered a dental emergency. However, if you are experiencing pain and sensitivity around the affected tooth, it's not something you should ignore. Our recommendation is that you wait no longer than 3 days to see our dentists.
How do I know if I cracked a filling?
How to tell if filling is crackedPain when chewing or biting.Sensitivity to heat, cold, or sweet foods.Pain that fluctuates.Swelling of the gum around the affected tooth.Bad breath.
How much does it cost to fix a cracked filling?
Fillings. Fillings, while more expensive than basic dental check-ups, both fix cavities and protect your mouth's future health. Most filling treatments hold stable prices in the following ranges: $50 to $150 for a single, silver amalgam filling.
How does a dentist repair a cracked filling?
If you have chipped off just a small piece of tooth enamel, your dentist may repair the damage with a filling. If the repair is to a front tooth or can be seen when you smile, your dentist will likely use a procedure called bonding, which uses a tooth-colored composite resin.
Is a cracked filling painful?
Broken or loose fillings are rarely considered an emergency, but because they can be painful we treat it as an emergency dental visit. The pain you experience is often due to exposed tooth tissue that is sensitive to pressure, air or hot and cold temperatures.
Tooth wear
We ask a lot of our teeth. We bite into hard foods. And, some of us, grind our teeth and clench our jaws. The harder the food we eat, the more we are asking of our dental restorations. A broken dental filling can occur over time because we use our teeth daily.
Tooth decay
Once a tooth is filled, many patients believe the problem is permanently fixed.
Trauma or injury
Any trauma or injury to the head, face, or mouth can cause a broken filling. Even if the filling does not come out at the time of the trauma, it may be enough to loosen it so that the next time you bite into an apple, you lose a filling.
There is something rattling around in your mouth
In the case of our weekend warrior above, feeling something in your mouth that is not food, gum, or anything else you intentionally put there is a clear sign of a broken dental filling.
You experience pain or sensitivity on a particular tooth
Perhaps you take a drink of something and feel a twinge of pain in your tooth. Maybe you are talking in cold weather and notice that when you open your mouth the bit of cold air that gets in causes sensitivity. Or ma
Save the Filling
If you feel a filling becomes loose, first remove it from your mouth. Try to avoid swallowing it. If you do swallow it, no need to panic. It will likely pass through. Breathing it in could cause a lung infection, however.
Are You in Pain?
Sometimes your filling fell out and you feel no pain —other times cracked fillings can be very painful. If your tooth hurts, take over the counter pain medication like Advil or Tylenol. You could also ice your jaw to reduce swelling. It also helps to apply clove oil, available in drug stores and in the baking section of most grocery stores.
What We Can Do
When you call us, we’ll get you in for an emergency dental appointment as soon as possible. We’ll take a look at the cracked filling and make a complete diagnosis. We can tell you how long you can wait until treatment. Either way, it’s not something we should put off too long.
Why Did My Filling Crack?
Cracks can happen if a filling is positioned higher than the rest of your teeth. The force of your bite can cause the mis-positioned tooth to crack. Sometimes cracks appear in a filling overtime as it wears out from use. Sometimes cracks appear at the edge of a filling.
Family Dental Care for the Cincinnati Area
If you need emergency dental care, give us a call —even if we’ve never seen you before. We’re accepting new patients and offer comprehensive dental care for the entire family. Our family dental clinic practices gentle dentistry. We always try to help our patients feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible.
Who Is at Risk for a Cracked Filling?
Anyone who has a filling is at risk of cracking it. Of course, a hard bite and teeth grinding will increase your risk, whereas old fillings may take their time to crack and do so more naturally. Age also increases your chances of cracking your filling.
Prevention
Regardless of how old your filling is, you can take the following precautions to help prevent damaging it:
What Are the Symptoms?
Observing a hole or dark spot on your filling could be a sign that it’s cracked, but it’s not always detectable with the naked eye. Some other cracked filling symptoms are:
What Happens If I Ignore a Cracked Tooth Filling?
You may be tempted to ignore a broken tooth filling, but you shouldn’t. Remember, your filling was put there to protect your tooth after your tooth decay was removed. When your filling cracks, a space forms between the worn filling and your tooth that can trap bacteria.
What Should I Do If I Have a Cracked Filling?
Don’t panic, but come see us right away. A cracked filling is an urgent matter even if you don’t experience any pain. Dr. Hedrick will examine your tooth, possibly take x-rays, and recommend the best course of action to fix it. Give us a call at 303-772-6333, and the entire team at Longmont Dental Loft will take excellent care of you!
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So You Cracked a Filling, Now What?
Your oral health is very important to maintain. Not everyone knows that your gums and your teeth have the ability to affect your overall health. When you have good oral health, your smile, your sense of smell, and even your sense of taste improve. If you’ve cracked a filling, your oral health can suffer.
Decay Around the Filling
When you get a filling, the surrounding decaying material should be removed from the tooth to make sure further deterioration in the tooth does not occur. However, if the tooth continues to decay in that same area or in a different spot that reaches the filling site, your filling will not have anything hard to hold onto and will fall out.
Debonded Filling
If your filling came out shortly after being placed, this could be the culprit. Occasionally, a chemical reaction will occur in the filling that causes it not to bond with your tooth, thus falling out in the days or weeks after being placed in your tooth.
Bad Habits
Do you grind your teeth? Do you chew ice? Clench your jaw while lifting weights? All of this pressure can be too much for the filling to handle, and the force of these repeated actions can cause that filling to pop right out. Try to be conscious of any bad habits and reduce their occurrence to avoid losing your fillings this way.
Are There Different Types of Fillings?
Yes! Your dentist may offer you an amalgam filling, which is silver in color, or a composite filling, which is tooth-colored. Depending on the location of your filling, you’ll want to opt for a composite filling if it will be visible.