Chip/chunk off front tooth.

Michellenman

I had a bit of an accident last night which has resulted in me missing a large chunk of my front tooth at the moment. I've attached an image to show you what I mean.

Here's my problem. I'm currently living abroad and while my understanding of the language is good, I don't have the vocabulary to discuss the various dental issues extensively.

I went to the dentist here today who has (i think..) told me that the tooth with the chip out of it is numb, there appears to be no feeling in it. She thinks the tooth may be in shock and told me to wait over the weekend and see if some vitality comes back in to it. I've to go back on Monday and have it checked again.

She said that if no feeling comes back in to the tooth, I'll need a crown put on, but if some does come back to it, I can have it filled/prosthesis (I'm not sure what the direct translation of the prosthesis part is..)

So, I won't be back in Ireland until May 22nd. Can I last the next 2ish weeks without having a crown/prosthesis put on to my tooth or is it best to get this kind of thing done asap?

I'd be reluctant to leave it in case it rots or more damage is done, but quite frankly, going to a dentist and not really understanding what's going on is terrifying..

Thanks for any advice in advance

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Will probably be fine until you get back unless your in pain. The nerve in the tooth may die due to the trauma. The vitality of the nerve is tested with cold and electricity, soon after a trauma the test may show no vitality but this may come back with time, but more like 2-4 weeks than a few days. If the tooth stays non vital it need a root canal treatment. Sometimes a crown after also but sometimes a filling is all that is needed. Not all front teeth with root canals need crowns it depends on the case.

Best wait until you get back, understanding treatment and continuing care are important here. The tooth wont rot in the mean time, the damage is done whats important now is how appropriate and well the treatment is carried out.

Michellenman

Cheers for that

What's my best course of action here so? Shall I cancel the appointment for Monday considering that you say a few days won't make a difference if it's dead or alive? Or go back? If I go back its likely that the Dentist will do some filing or work on the tooth, would that impair any future work I'll need to have done by a Dentist in Ireland?

For the time being do I need to just keep it clean, don't knock it off anything and take it easy while brushing?

Oral Surgeon

Sorry, I'm seeing your post late...

Looks like you got a nasty knock...

i agree with Fitzgeme;
From your pic, the fracture appears to be in enamel and dentine and not pulp and so the vitality would most likely not be lost from pulp exposure.
The vitality may however be lost due to the actual movement of the tooth due to the initial blow...
Best thing to do is maintain a soft non chew diet, keep it really clean, it may be sensitive due to exposed dentine but this is not a problem in the short term...
Loss of vitality is hard to gauge but you'd want to be fully sure that the tooth is dead before going for the root canal. It can be hard to diagnose a traumatised tooth in the healing period so best to monitor for now.

Death/ necrosis is near certain if the tooth becomes very dark, there is a tender swelling developing in the gum over the tooth or a gum boil (with pus) or if the tooth later becomes very tender to touch.

I'd wait and understand whats happening.

look after yourself

Michellenman

Well, home in Ireland and had my appointment with the dentist this morning.

The nerve is dead/dying in the tooth so I started the process of root canal whilst there. F-me I hate needles so much. Ugh. Already there's been some decay and he said my tooth is now 1/4 of a shade darker than the rest. Awesome.

He's put a temporary composite on the tooth so it looks much better, nearly like it used to.

I've got 3 more appointments between now and the 29th of August and then hopefully it will all be sorted out. I may need some bleaching of the tooth to make it match the rest of my teeth but we'll see.

So, my dreams of it being a half hour job costing €130 and being back to normal asap have been dashed. It's going to cost around €525, and then more if it needs to be bleached in the end. Woohoo.

At least the process is started now, hopefully it won't be too painful over all.

Cheers for all the advice, really appreciate it

Michellenman

/Sigh. I'm back

So, my dentist placed a temporary cap on my tooth when he was doing the root canal. As I was brushing my teeth yesterday the cap popped off. As a result, I'm rocking the redneck look right now. I tried calling the afterhour service he offers but it's ringing out and there's no voicemail to leave a message. I've been ringing around looking for dentists all day but I'm not getting anywhere. I rang the dublin dental hospital but they can't help because I'm not in any pain, and wouldn't cement the cap back on for me anyway. I also rang the dentist on call in the Dundrum swift clinic who quoted me €170 to cement the cap back on... not to make a new cap, just to glue the old one back on. I know its the weekend and all but that's a bit excessive.

The dentist in the dublin dental hospital recommended I try the dental fixative you can buy in pharmacies, which I did. I followed the instructions to the letter and 5 minutes later, the cap caught on my lip and popped off.

I'd be more than happy to wait until tomorrow but I'm going to Malta at 7am for 8 days. So whats my best bet to do? Keep trying with the cement and hope for the best or just leave it as it is now? I'm not in any pain, no swelling or throbbing and as far as I can tell the actual root canal is still filled, it's just the cap that's popped off.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.