If you’re not experiencing any pain or adverse side effects from your broken tooth, it might seem like it’s okay to leave the tooth untreated, but the truth is that leaving a broken tooth untreated can initiate an avalanche of problems with the teeth, oral health, and even overall health. Understanding the possible snowball effect of leaving a broken tooth can help demonstrate why treating your broken tooth is necessary, and why it’s better to treat it sooner rather than later.
Problems with a broken tooth can start right away and might be more or less severe depending on the extent of the damage and the size of the fracture. Common early effects include:
- Sensitivity to extreme temperatures or excessively sweet foods
- Pain, often intense and piercing, when chewing or biting
- Sharp tooth edges that can damage or irritate the soft oral tissues
- Aesthetic concerns, especially when the broken tooth is readily visible
- Diminished self-esteem with smile changes
Sometimes, however, a broken tooth could have minimal or bearable side effects, and, if the tooth is toward the back of the mouth, its appearance might not bother you – but there’s a good chance it could develop more complex problems over time. Because these issues can arise gradually, they can be more difficult to detect, though many of these long-term effects are complicated and painful. Some of the progressive effects of a broken tooth are:
- Tooth decay occurs when bacteria enter fractured areas and attack already compromised tissues
- Infection and dental abscess
- Continued damage as the affected tooth bears daily forces
- Possible tooth loss or irreparable fracture
- Inflammation and irritation in the gums
- Increased likelihood of gum disease
- Bone loss in the jaw
- Misalignments of the teeth or bite
- Pain in the jaw and TMJ disorders
It’s also important to understand that an infection in any part of the body poses the risk of spreading. This is also the case with infections in the tooth pulp, which is rich with blood vessels that are intended to carry vital nutrients to the tooth but can also carry infection from the tooth into the body’s other systems. When bacteria enter the bloodstream, the risk of systemic infection increases, and this infection poses a significant threat to overall health. Continued oral infection also triggers systemic inflammation, which can exacerbate existing inflammatory conditions like diabetes. As tooth pain and infection continue, patients begin to limit their diets, relying on narrower food choices that are easier to chew, often leading to poor nutrition habits over time.
If you’re concerned about the financial aspects of treating or replacing a broken tooth, you may want to consider the financial repercussions of leaving a broken tooth, because these repercussions, like the damage itself, are likely to increase as time progresses. What might have been repaired with a simple bonding procedure could instead require an invasive treatment like a root canal, or it could even require extracting the tooth. Extraction might necessitate a restoration like a crown or implant, and these restorations inevitably cost more than earlier, simpler repairs – both in terms of money and in the investment of time. It’s nearly always the case that early treatment is cheaper, simpler, and less invasive or painful. Early treatment allows your dentist to prevent additional damage by stabilizing the tooth, reducing the risks of infection, and minimizing pain while protecting the oral and overall health in the long term. With so many good reasons to treat a broken tooth and no real reason to leave your broken tooth alone, don’t wait to find out what happens if you leave a broken tooth. Call your dentist right away; a simple treatment could be all you need to prevent a painful, expensive future of extensive repairs and restorations.
Related Article: Is a Broken Tooth an Emergency?