Causes of Broken Teeth

Tooth Decay

If your teeth are decayed, there is a high chance they will sometimes fracture due to reduced strength.

Clenching & Grinding Habits (Bruxism)

The average force of the human bite when chewing is around 70 pounds per square inch. You have a much higher chance of breaking your teeth if you habitually clench or grind your teeth. These excessive stresses can cause your teeth to crack, chip, or break, and very often do.

Chewing Ice or Hard Foods

Good examples of this are nuts, hard candies, popcorn kernels, and even beef jerky. If you have large fillings or teeth with root canals and have to bite on them, bite slowly and carefully. (In fact, just don’t chew ice. It’s a dangerously bad habit for your teeth!)

Sports Accidents with No Mouthguard / Other Accidental Blows To Mouth)

Falling and hitting your mouth, accidentally being hit in the mouth by someone or something, falling while riding your bike. These are but a few examples. You can prevent these things by wearing an athletic mouthguard.

Tooth with Root Canal Treatment & No Dental Crown

Teeth that have experienced a root canal can become brittle and fragile since the endodontist has removed the tooth’s nerve. It no longer gets nutrition from the body to maintain its strength. (That is precisely why your dentist advises you to get it crowned as soon as possible after having a root canal. To protect it from breakage.)

Tongue & Mouth Piercings

This one is new to the past decade: Mouth jewelry. Having a hard metal object bumping against your teeth can be harmful because you tend to “play” with it a lot and will often accidentally bite it when eating if you’re not careful

Using Teeth as a Tool

If “Don’t open that with your mouth!” is something people often say to you, STOP! Sometimes it’s faster/easier to use your teeth than to find a pair of scissors or an opener. Still, one broken tooth could be the beginning of many years of fixing and re-fixing that tooth. To avoid this, try and STOP this habit before you find yourself with a broken tooth – or a lost tooth – in the worst-case scenario!

Imbalanced Bite

When your bite is not evenly balanced, everyday biting forces can be sufficient to cause some teeth to get chipped or cracked. Tooth loss, crooked teeth, or skeletal issues can cause bite imbalance.

What Can Be Done for Broken Teeth?

Depending on the severity of the chip or break, the treatment to fix it can range from just smoothing off the rough edge (for a tiny, tiny chip) to a tooth filling, dental veneer, porcelain onlay, or a dental crown. If it’s broken beyond the point of being able to save it, a dental implant is the best way to replace it.

Schedule A Consultation Today!

Advanced Dental & Implant Care is a top provider of dental Implant and overall patient care for patients from Elgin, South Elgin, East and West Dundee, and many surrounding areas. No matter your location, we are the recommended chipped or broken tooth specialist. Call our dental team at 847-854-1200 for a complimentary consultation in the Algonquin, Elgin, Huntley, and surrounding areas.