Straight Teeth in Less Time
Signs That Your Tooth Is Beyond Saving And Treatments You Should Consider
Lois Murray
When a dentist asks you to open your mouth so that he or she can get a good look at your teeth, he or she can spot major problems within seconds. Some of these problems are not visible in a dental x-ray, Since most dentists only require an x-ray every six months to a year or when there is an obvious problem, the dentist needs to rely on his or her training and what he or she sees. When a tooth is beyond saving, you may or may not be able to feel it, depending on what stage of decay and death the tooth is experiencing. Ergo, the visual signs and the choices you will have to make regarding this tooth are as follows.
The Smell Is Worse Than Halitosis
When a tooth, which is a living part of your mouth, dies, it does what every other living thing does when death takes hold: it stinks. It is not just your ordinary, run-of-the-mill halitosis stink either. The smell of a dead and rotting tooth is comparable to rotting meat or a very foul garbage disposal. No matter what you do to try and get rid of the smell in your mouth, the dead tooth stink remains.
Discoloration and Fracturing
Because the tooth is dead and blood and lymph vessels are no longer feeding the tooth to keep it healthy, the tooth will rapidly discolor. Although it will not turn black right away, it will fade into off-white, gray or yellow. If you do nothing to remedy the situation, eventually the tooth will begin to fracture, similar to breaking pieces off a hard candy when you bite into it.
Treatment for a Dead Tooth
Typically, you should have felt some type of excruciating pain when the tooth was injured, diseased or hurt by trauma. Refusing to seek medical attention at that time is what caused the tooth to die completely. Once it is completely dead, you will not feel any pain and assume that the tooth is fine when it is not. Your dentist will suggest one or more of these treatments for your tooth:
- Extraction/complete removal of the tooth
- Replacing the tooth with a dental implant to maintain space and correct dental alignment
- Creating a dental bridge and/or a crown to replace the extracted tooth
- Cleansing the area of the extracted tooth and prescribing antiseptic mouthwashes and antibiotics to kill any disease that started under the tooth's roots
The much healthier, albeit fake, tooth will ensure that your remaining teeth go unaffected from the dead and extracted tooth. Your dentist will examine the other teeth for signs of death after pulling the bad one and attempt to revitalize them through cleansing, oral sanitation and medication before installing dental implants or developing a dental bridge in the open space.
To learn more about dental implants and dental care, contact a dental clinic like Milan Simanek, D.D.S. & Associates.
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I had braces when I was a kid. Back then, you had to wear those metal wires and rubber bands for what seemed like forever. When I saw that my child’s teeth were going to be crooked like mine, I was dreading the years of braces and orthodontist appointments and limited diets that I saw stretching ahead of us. I was pleased to find out that braces today are very different from braces when I was a kid. They don’t need to be worn for nearly as long, and they aren’t as intrusive, either. My daughter got braces that can barely be seen, and she can remove them when she eats, so she doesn’t have to give up her favorite foods. I was so impressed that I started a blog to talk about modern day tooth straightening techniques. Braces have come a long way.