Cracked teeth can be painful, unattractive, and costly to repair, especially if you need emergency dental care. Today’s post in the Marcos Ortega DDS San Diego dental blog contains an easy-to-follow list of tips to keep your teeth whole and strong.
- Don’t chew on hard things. People should steer clear of ice, hard candies, hard nuts, popcorn, and beef jerky. Watch out for stone fruits—that peach may be soft but if you bite hard into the stone, you could damage a tooth.
- Protect your teeth during physical activity where your mouth can be hit. If you enjoy pick-up basketball games, indoor soccer leagues, rec center flag football, and many other activities, you should be using a well-fitting mouth protector.
- Teeth are not tools. Use scissors to open a string cheese or rip the price tag off a new piece of clothing with your teeth. Use a nutcracker for nuts. A quality dental crown can cost hundreds of dollars.
- Don’t grind your teeth. Grinding your teeth can lead to a cracked tooth. If you know or suspect that you are a tooth grinder, speak with your dentist so you can address the problem with stress reduction techniques and/or a mouth guard. Frequent headaches or jaw pain can frequently be caused by nighttime teeth grinding.
- Visit your dentist regularly for check-ups and cleanings. Your dentist can alert you to conditions that might lead to cracked teeth, such as having an uneven chewing surface or brittle teeth. Your dentist may also discover tiny cracks you aren’t aware of. Take care of these cracks before the whole tooth is in danger.
If you already have a cracked tooth, never fear! Treatment is available for cracks small and large. Veneers, cosmetic dental bonding, inlays/onlays, fillings, and dental implants are all used to repair or replace damaged teeth.
For any dental emergency or other general or cosmetic dental treatments, please call Marcos Ortega DDS and his team in San Diego. Call today for an appointment.
Contact Marcos Ortega DDS:
619-295-4545
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
306 Walnut Ave Ste 25
San Diego, California
92103
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