In the last blog I mentioned that I spent my time fixing a lot of broken teeth. I got curious after writing and went back to look over photos of my patients’ broken teeth. In the past month, I saw patients almost everyday whom I fixed their broken teeth for and below are their photos. They are extremely common.

Broken teeth: more common than you think

Some of these teeth broke for the first time. Some have visible cracks, indicating where they might break next. Some showed signs of multiple breakages and patching around the teeth with white fillings. These teeth suffer from a common condition, that is, they are heavily filled, usually with silver fillings, which leave the remaining parts of the teeth weakened. These photos are the testament of what I said in the previous blog that patching broken parts does not make the tooth stronger.

If teeth are drilled and filled without long term planning, you may find yourself one day in this situation where most of your teeth are weakened. Just like a house that is constantly patched and repaired. At some point you’ll realize that it needs to be tear down and rebuilt.

Like all dental problems, being proactive in prevention is always better than repairing. In the next blog, I’ll talk about capping to protect teeth. Many years ago, I asked my mentor, “when is the best time to cap a cracked tooth?” He jokingly said, “Right before it breaks.” Since I can’t tell when a tooth is going to break, I’d rather do it well before it happens.

To your healthy smile.
Dr. Supa
Supa Dental, Melton.