Broken Front Tooth

[westdickens]

i was playing soccer last night and got hit.  my front tooth literally broken in half.  half is still in and not bleeding nor is it painful.  i saved the other half of the tooth.

the break was horizontal, not vertical meaning that there is half of a perfectly good tooth still in place.

can the other half be rebonded as a temporary solution before having a new tooth made?  does anyone know what the general solution is for this kind of thing.

thanks for any help!

[Jerome Bogin, D.D.S.]

It is possible to have the piece bonded as a temporary measure. There  a number of treatment options, bonding if there is enough tooth structure, a porcelain laminate, or a crown. The decision is made between you and your dentist.

[mike1105]

you cant bond the broken piece to the rest of the tooth that is left in your mouth. However, it may be possible to bond composite material to what is left, to make the tooth look whole again. The tooth will probably ned to be crowned and may also need root canal treatment. I'd see a dentist as soon as you can.

[westdickens]

Thank You!  I took the tooth to a very good prosthedontist today.  He re-attached it as a temporary fix before having a crown made.  

The part that was re-attached is more white than the rest of the tooth.  I understand it should even out in terms of color a bit more over a few days time.  Does that sound right?

[FlFemale66]

I am not a dentist, but have a question and a comment.  Let me see if I understand correctly that the dentist DID in fact reattach the broken part of the tooth?  That being so, You state that the part of the tooth(thats still attatched to your upper jaw) is darker color that the piece that was reattached?
  That is a cause for concern.. the darkening of the tooth(the portion with the roots still attached)may have suffered nerve/blood supply damage from the blow that broke it... if NOT care for in a timely manner, sometimes even a root canal will not save a dead tooth and wouuld then require removal of the tooth...

My unprofessional advice is not to "sit" on this too long...

My neice had to have BOTH of her front teeth removed, after they broke in a similiar fashion, and the dentist did pins and bondings to restore the appearance of the tooth.. the tooth base continued to darken over the following year and by the time she got into a different dentist,, the rot was significant, from the damaged roots out, and the teeth had to be removed.

[westdickens]

the dentist reattached the part of the tooth that broke off as a temporary measure.  in the next week i am going to an endodontist to have some testing done to determine the extent of the damage to the nerve and inside of the tooth.

the top part that remained attached was a normal tooth color and did not turn dark.  the part that broke off had turned very white overnight.  a few days have passed and the bottom and top part match perfectly again.  i was advised this would be the case once it was reattached.

regardless, the tooth is going to have to be crowned in the next few weeks.  this was just a temporary measure so that i wouldnt experience discomfort eating or the appearance being so unattractive.  you cant even tell looking at the tooth that it broke.

[John361]

A related discussion, Bonding Broken Teeth was started.