Stress and other conditions can cause some individuals to clench their jaw and grind their teeth while sleeping. Some people may also do so unconsciously while awake. In many of these cases, the extreme force applied to your teeth can lead to chips, dental fractures, and latent issues with the joints of your jaw, which are called temporomandibular joints.
If one of your teeth is chipped, fractured, or otherwise traumatized, it’s best to have it examined and treated by one of our dentists, Dr. Macon Sapp and Dr. Baxter Sapp. If you do not have your damaged tooth treated, it could become vulnerable to decay. In time, this decay could lead to an infection of the interior of your tooth.
Our dentist will determine the best course of treatment for you based on the severity of the damage to the tooth and its enamel.
It might be possible to repair a small chip or single surface fracture by installing a simple amalgam or composite dental filling. If a large area of the tooth has been compromised, we might recommend repairing the damaged tooth with a special inlay or onlay filling.
In cases in which a large amount of the surface of a tooth has been damaged or the structural integrity is at risk, we might recommend a restoration with a dental crown. A crown will replace the tooth’s enamel with an alternative dental material.
If teeth grinding, or bruxism is a problem for you, you should talk to us about a custom mouth guard to protect your teeth. A night guard will keep your teeth from grinding against one another and prevent damage.
If you live in the Durham, North Carolina, area and you have a chipped or fractured tooth caused by chronic night grinding, we invite you to call 919-489-9171 to plan a visit to H.T. Macon Sapp, DDS. Dr. Macon Sapp and Dr. Baxter Sapp look forward to helping you with your oral care needs!