Have you ever been woken up in the middle of the night with the bone-chilling sensation that you just accidentally chipped a tooth from subconsciously grinding them at night? Have you noticed your teeth seem worn down and your jaw hurts in the morning? Do you not even realize that you’re grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw until it’s pointed out?

If you’re grinding your teeth at night, it’s crucial that you do what you can in order to address the issue, and promptly. You don’t want to end up chipping your teeth and needing restorations. Fortunately, there are things that you can do in order to avoid chipping your teeth from grinding them at night.

Here’s what you need to know about how you can end up chipping your teeth from grinding them at night, why this happens, and what you can do about it. Let’s get on into it. 

Why You’re Grinding Your Teeth At Night

If you’re subconsciously grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw, this is called bruxism. While this blog is focused on bruxism at night, this is something that can happen during the day or at night. You may not even realize that you’re doing this unless it’s pointed out to you, even if you have some of the symptoms.

What Causes Bruxism?

Bruxism can be caused by a variety of different factors or several combined. Some of causes include:

• Stress
• Emotional upset
• Nicotine
• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Type A personality
• Being a younger child
• Certain medications
• Medical conditions like sleep apnea, Parkinson’s, ADHD, etc

What Happens If You Have Bruxism?

If you’re subconsciously grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw, you may experience some of the following issues:

• Wear and tear to teeth
• Cracking/fracturing teeth
• TMJ
• Swelling facial joints
• Limited jaw movement
• Pain
• Difficulty biting/chewing 

Bruxism may cause you to need dental restorations due to unconscious damage to teeth, such as: 

• Chipped enamel
• Cracked teeth
• Flattened/grooved/worn down teeth
• Loosened teeth
• Worsened gum problems

Left untreated, bruxism can cause TMJ (jaw muscle and joint) problems.

Bruxism can lead to symptoms like clicking sounds when you open your mouth, headaches, ear aches, neck aches, sensitive teeth, and a sore/tired jaw, in addition to all of the potential issues listed above. 

How To Avoid Chipping Your Teeth From Grinding Them At Night

If you suffer from bruxism, it’s important to seek out treatment. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. You must do what you can in order to prevent damaging your teeth. 

Fortunately, there are many different things that  you can do in order to reduce your risk of chipping your teeth from grinding them at night. Depending on what is causing your bruxism and what your individual circumstances are, you may benefit from a different approach than someone else. When you talk to your dentist, they will be able to help you find the ideal treatment method for your specific needs.

Some of the ways you can avoid chipping your teeth from grinding them at night include:

• Using a mouthguard
• Meditation
• Doing jaw exercises
• Quitting smoking/tobacco
• Reducing use of alcohol/caffeine 
• Using hot/cold therapy to alleviate jaw tension
• Bite adjustment if teeth are uneven
• Medication before bedtime
• Exercising to alleviate stress
• Avoiding stressors
• Talking to a psychiatrist about potential for anti-anxiety medication
• Going to therapy to talk your issues through 
• Talking to your dentist about bruxism/treatment options

You may need to talk to a doctor as bruxism can be caused by sleep apnea. This is a sleep disorder where the person has shortness of breath, pauses in breathing, airway blockage, and other symptoms at night. You will also want to talk to your doctor if your bruxism could be caused by your medication. 

Your doctor and dentist together will be able to help you find the ideal treatment method for you.  

Why It’s Important To Treat Cracked Teeth Quickly

When left untreated, cracked teeth only worsen. Check out our previous blogs on cracked teeth here, here, here, here, and here to learn more about the causes of cracked teeth, why they can’t heal naturally, and more. 

If you have cracked teeth, you may need a retainer, mouthguard, crowns, veneers, composite bonding, or another type of treatment in order to treat the issue. 

David G. Johnson, DDS, is here to help you with your cracked teeth. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and allow us to restore your smile. 

If your tooth cracks, it’s natural to be alarmed – for more reasons than one. A cracked tooth can range from mild to severe pain. However, many people hesitate to obtain treatment and wonder whether or not a cracked tooth can heal naturally, due to financial concerns. The truth of the matter is that it depends on the severity of the crack.

Here, we’ll go over the various types of cracked teeth, at-home treatments you can do to alleviate pain, and whether a cracked tooth can heal naturally or you need to see an endodontist. 

What Can Crack Your Teeth?

There are many different things that can crack a tooth. Some of the most common causes of cracking teeth include:

• Grinding and clenching your teeth
• Biting something hard
• Blunt force trauma
• Age
• Gum disease
• A filling that is too big
• Abrupt changes in mouth temperature

Some people suffer from bruxism and may need a mouthguard in order to protect their teeth. In order to avoid cracking your teeth, you’ll want to ensure that you take proper care of your teeth, avoid biting or chewing hard foods, and resist the urge to use your teeth as tools.

Our previous blog, What Causes Cracked Teeth?, goes into this information in more detail.

The Different Types Of Cracked Teeth

Whether or not your tooth can heal naturally depends on the type of crack you’ve suffered. There are many different types of tooth cracks – the vast majority of which require prompt dental treatment.

Some of the different types of cracks include:

• Craze lines are tiny cracks in your enamel. These usually aren’t painful and are extremely shallow. They are the only type of crack that you can technically live with. 
• Fractured cusps are when part of your tooth’s surface breaks off. This usually happens around fillings.
• A cracked tooth is what it sounds like. The crack may just be on the chewing part of your tooth or it may extend all the way down through the root.
• Split teeth are what happens when you ignore a cracked tooth. Just as the name implies, they’re split into separable parts. 
• Root fractures happen at the bottom of the tooth’s root and extend upwards.

Can You Heal Cracks Naturally?

Whether you’re trying to avoid a dental bill or you’re a major advocate for all things natural, wondering if a cracked tooth is something that can heal naturally is typically well-intentioned. Unfortunately, you’ll be disappointed to learn that no, cracks don’t heal naturally, not unless they’re extremely small. 

Provided you’ve only sustained minimal damage, like a craze line, there’s a possibility that it could heal naturally through the remineralization process. However, if you have any type of cracked tooth, it’s vital that you make an appointment with your endodontist. Ignoring cracked teeth can result in you losing said teeth if it goes on long enough. 

Are There At-Home Remedies For Teeth Cracks?

No, there aren’t. However, there are things that you can do in order to alleviate your pain before you go to the dentist to have the crack treated.

Some of the things you can do include:

• Putting an ice pack over your cheek or lip to reduce inflammation.
• Do a warm salt water rinse to remove bacteria.
• Bite gauze to prevent the crack from damaging your mouth. 
• Keep your head elevated.
• Take painkillers.

Why Don’t Teeth Heal Naturally?

It’s often said that teeth are bones. This can cause some confusion when people learn that teeth can’t heal naturally, because other bones can. This is because teeth are not actually bones, though they may look like it.  

Teeth are made out of dentin, enamel, cementum, and pulp. While your teeth undergo a process called remineralization, they can neither regenerate nor remodel themselves. If your tooth sustains damage, your tooth can only produce very small amounts of new dentin, which is why they cannot heal naturally.

Bones, on the other hand, are made out of living tissue and protein collagen. Bones are constantly being remodeled and regenerated. They also have marrow. This is why your bones can heal themselves but your teeth typically cannot. 

Do You Have A Cracked Tooth?

If you have a cracked tooth, it’s very important that you don’t ignore it and that you schedule an appointment to have it treated as soon as possible. Depending on the type and severity of the crack, treatments vary. David G. Johnson, DDS, provides expert treatment options for cracked teeth. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to schedule an appointment. 

Say you take a fall or you bite down on something hard and crack your tooth. You may wonder whether or not you really need to seek out treatment or if you can live with a cracked tooth. Surely, provided that the crack isn’t serious, there’s no harm in just leaving it be, right? 

This isn’t the case. While you can live with a cracked tooth the same way that you can just choose to not have a cavity filled, the ramifications can be severe. Your cracked tooth may not seem serious right now, but it can worsen over time, and even result in needing a tooth extraction if proper measures are not taken to treat it. 

Here’s what you need to know about why you shouldn’t just live with a cracked tooth, the complications that can arise from ignoring cracked teeth, and what you can do to both prevent and treat cracked teeth. Let’s dive in!

The Dangers Of Trying To Live With A Cracked Tooth

When you crack a tooth, you’ll likely experience sharp, shooting pain and sensitivity that may dissipate over time, depending on the severity of the initial crack. If the pain goes away and the crack isn’t visible, it’s easy to assume that you can just live with a cracked tooth and that there’s no need to seek out treatment. Teeth are bones, right? Can’t a cracked tooth just heal on its own, the same way a typical broken bone would?

Cracked teeth aren’t like broken bones. Once you’ve cracked your tooth, it isn’t going to heal itself over time – it’s going to get worse. It’s important to seek out treatment as soon as possible after the initial crack, in order to prevent further damage and ensure that you can keep your tooth.

What Happens When You Ignore A Cracked Tooth

The longer that you live with a cracked tooth without having it treated, the more damage it can cause. This is because when you crack a tooth, the layer underneath your enamel which is called the pulp becomes irritated and distressed. Over time, the damage to the pulp of your tooth can become permanent.

As previously mentioned, cracked teeth don’t heal on their own; they worsen. Even the smallest, most seemingly insignificant crack can become larger and more extensive over time. This allows for infection to infiltrate your tooth – infection that can spread throughout your gums all the way down to your jawbone. 

This infection can cause issues that necessitate treatments such as: abscesses, root canals, tooth loss, and antibiotics. Trying to live with a cracked tooth doesn’t just end up causing the pain to worsen, but it can also lead to gum disease and even the loss of your tooth. 

What To Do When You Crack A Tooth

When you crack a tooth, there are several things that you can do prior to receiving treatment for it that will help to prevent further damage to your tooth. These include:

• Using the tooth as little as possible
• Using a saltwater rinse in order to keep your mouth clean
• Practicing good oral hygiene
• Protecting your tooth while you sleep, such as with a mouthguard
• Scheduling a visit with your dentist as soon as possible

In a way, you can live with a cracked tooth – while you are waiting for your scheduled appointment in order to have it treated and doing what you can to protect it until then. However, you can’t ignore a cracked tooth, as it’s crucial to have it treated as soon as possible for the good of your oral health. 

Treatments For Cracked Teeth

There are many different ways that dentists treat cracked teeth. Usually, they’re not a big procedure, especially if the crack is small and you see a dentist as soon as you can after cracking your tooth. Left untreated, cracked teeth can necessitate more intensive treatment. 

Treatments for cracked teeth include:

• Bonding. This is when a resin is used in order to both seal the crack and restore the look of your tooth.
• Crowns. Crowns can protect your teeth and prevent cracks from worsening.
• Root Canals. If your crack extends down into the pulp of your tooth, a root canal can save it by cleaning out the infection and then protecting it with a crown.
• Extractions. In serious cases, your cracked tooth may need to be extracted in order to prevent further damage.

David G. Johnson, DDS., is here to help with your cracked teeth. It can be very dangerous to try to just live with a cracked tooth, so it’s essential to seek out treatment as soon as possible in order to save your tooth and preserve your oral health. Contact us today to learn more about cracked teeth or to set up an appointment.