So low about smashing my front tooth up

[AnneC81]

About 6 weeks ago I tripped up on a night out and although I tried to break my fall, I ended up smacking my mouth and teeth on the edge of a step.

Fast forward 6 weeks, the slightly cut lip has healed, but one of my two front teeth has not gotten off as lightly and has a horizontal crack running through it - but tooth still in tact

I have been to my NHS dentist twice, and also seen a private dentist that very kindly offered to see me for free following a desperate Facebook post asking for recommendations for a local private dentist. My NHS dentist put a white filling on a slight chip on the corner of my tooth, but both dentists have said the same with regards to the foundation of the tooth and the horizontal crack……that it’s fractured, there’s no sign of nerve damage as yet but chances are that will come soon and then it will be root canal, followed by a crown.

However, I have been told that they don’t know when this may happen and until then I just need to be thankful it wasn’t worse and live with this horizontal crack in my tooth - and it’s this bit that I’m really struggling with. I have accepted that I will need work on it, and chances are this tooth will die soon as I am in pain still but what if it doesn’t, I can’t walk around with a crack in my tooth waiting for it to die. I just don’t know what to do.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? Or had root canal on a front tooth, or crowns or veneers? I’m just looking for some light at the end of the tunnel stories as I’m so so down about it all.

I bashed my tooth last year and dentist thought I had a root fracture on XR.

Terrible prognosis - could die at any time etc, looking at root canal/ crown. I was gutted and touted advice from all the dentists i work with (I work in a dental hospital one day a week) who all agreed with my own dentist. One kind soul said he would see me when the inevitable happened as he is a specialist in this area which was reassuring.

Fast forward 18 months and I still have the tooth, never needed any work and it looks fine!

@Flowerfairy101 I’m so sorry about what happened to you. Although we wish these things didn’t happen, your outcome is my preferred outcome rather than a crown or implant.

I’ve been told a few things, RCT then a crown, or RCT and a veneer…..but I’ve been told I’d need two veneers so both front teeth match, but I think my other tooth is OK.

I have also heard that veneers keep coming off, how have you found it? I know ultimately it could lead to an implant but if I could het away with a veneer, especially just one for 10 years or so after RCT I would be lucky with that.

Bless you OP. I think firstly it is normal to feel emotional after any sort of accident or illness, these things are a shock to the system even if they appear (relatively) not as serious as they could have been or have been for others who've had accidents.

I expect you have a lot of swelling and bruising that needs to go down before a dentist can properly advise on an outcome and your options. They will fix it though, and I'm sure fix much worse day to day. I've had a root canal and composite rebuild in a very visible tooth at the front of my mouth and there's no way you could tell, obviously wasn't much fun and took a while to complete it as it was done in stages but I no longer think about it at all a few years on. At the time I was in agony, felt it would never be fixed and would have to come out and it looked awful. I mainly felt fortunate that I was able to pay for it and had the ability to save to do so (then). So many people must be in these situations who have no hope of any cosmetic fix and end up with an extraction.

I also had an accident in secondary school where I ran into a set of freshly cleaned patio doors thinking they were open and cracked all of my bottom front teeth, some were chipped. What the NHS dentist did at the time patched them up, the teeth never fell out or cracked further and I had composite bonding done as an adult which massively improved the appearance. You can still see fine cracks but really nobody is looking at your teeth very closely in life, most people probably don't want to look at them at all at close range.

I only had one front tooth done, they do some wizardry to colour match it as PP says! Although it won't change colour like real teeth do so I guess at some point it might look a little different and I might want to update it. I've had mine 8 years and its stayed on, but I'm really careful with it, I don't bite into apples or anything hard, careful with things like baguettes so not tearing at them with my front teeth. I think if they're done properly they can last ages. I do worry from time to time that it will come off but have regular dental check ups and always ask them to tell me it's looking in good condition still.

I had a chip, then Lost a vertical bit. Been repaired 4 times, eventually with a little hook to anchor the resin.

I got hit in the face by a ball when I was 16 and had to have a root canal and a vaneer ( sorry can’t spell ) done when I was 18 . I am now 46 and have only had to change it once . I am careful and don’t bite into hard things but it hasn’t caused problems . I only had one tooth done as my dentist was reluctant to touch the other front tooth as it was healthy. It is a very traumatic thing to happen , but I promise you will feel better soon .

Almost this exact thing happened to me when I was pregnant. I fainted, smashed my front teeth and killed one of them. The tooth went red a day later (filled with blood) and I had root canal about a week afterwards. They bleached the tooth to get it back to a normal colour. I didn't have a visible crack so can't comment on that I'm afraid.

I was absolutely dreading it but it was ok. Not the best experience of my entire life but certainly not the worst. I would put it on a par with a really long smear test. You won't feel any pain, the worst bit is having to sit there with your jaw wide open. My advice is to take some good noise cancelling headphones and immerse yourself in music or an audiobook.

Looking at my teeth now you wouldn't know anything had happened. Hope it goes ok for you, good luck!

I had my two front teeth crowned nearly 50 years ago .They matched my own teeth perfectly .
I started to have trouble with one of them about 3 years ago and ended up with a cantilevered (attached at only one side ) bridge .Not painful ,not uncomfortable,perfect match ,
I am lucky to have an excellent NHS dentist .

I really feel for you ,it's incredibly upsetting having stuff go wrong with your front teeth .I took to my bed for 2 days when my crowns eventually failed .

@AdelaideRo that’s a great outcome, hopefully you continue to not need any work on that tooth.

This is great @Flowerfairy101, and has definitely made me feel better. I’d be the same if I had a veneer/veneers, I would not eat anything like apples, baguettes, hard candy etc.

@dontgobaconmyheart thank you so much for sharing your story and your kind words. Yes, I feel like it will never get sorted at the moment, I can’t seem to see at end point. The pain is on and off, but has been getting worse over the last few days, and I feel like I just had to live with this crack. I’m hoping it will get sorted, even like you, if it’s in phases.

Luckily I have savings so I can afford to spend on the cosmetic aspect. Of course I just wished it hadn’t happened but we all wish that and it was just an unfortunate accident.

@newtb it’s good that they are able to patch it up. Mine is horizontal, the dentist did say it could just come clean off and if it does they can build it back up, I guess with the composite stuff.

@Pebblebeach15 sorry to hear about your accident, that’s a horrible thing to happen. As I said to a PP that’s a good outcome, to have just one veneer and have it last for so long. I was advised I’d potentially need two veneers to match, but I don’t understand why if one tooth is healthy, which I think it is. I’ll definitely ask the question when I go to my dentist appointment. Let’s hope I can have a good outcome like you!

Thank you @peridito, yes, I have not felt like leaving the house much recently. I luckily work from home but I have a lot of online meetings and it’s really knocked my confidence. It sounds like you have a wonderful dentist. I would love to have a similar outcome, if I can get veneers or crowns that last half that time I’d be happy.

@AnneC81 of course I've no idea where in the UK you are but my saintly dentist is in SE London and if you by chance live in the area i could PM you contact details .

@peridito thank you, unfortunately I’m in the NW, but on a mission now to find the best Endodontist around!

My lovely ,lovely dentist isn't a specialist he's just excellent at his job.I don't think that a root filling and crown is that complicated and I don't understand why they would need to do both .

Good luck Anne ,it will work out I promise .

I knocked out my two front teeth at eight years old and had to wear a plate. Now I have a bridge. It definitely had an impact on confidence. I hope you get it all sorted OP.

I have a chipped front tooth - I fell balancing on a wall when I was about ten.

It's been filled twice in 25 years and the last time was over 20 years ago now. Never had an issue since.

They kind of cleaned it and put a special white filler in it, and stuck it to the back of the upper half of the tooth to keep it in place. You can't see it now unless it's pointed out and it's pain free.

Having the root canal wasn't too bad- I was only 14 though so cant remember it too much. The anaesthetic hurt but once it's numb it doesn't hurt anymore and now they use a numbing gel first so even the anaesthetic isn't too bad. Once they've done the root canal it doesn't have a nerve so technically cant hurt anymore, although some people do get some referred or phantom pain I think.

If you can afford it I would just bite the bullet and get it done.

Oh @AnneC81 I literally feel your pain!

Just wanted to echo other replies and say you will psychologically and physically better about this in time.

I have done similar twice (avoid doing it a second time is my advice 😬) falling off a bike and while running.

First time tooth came out and was stuck through lip, second time tooth chipped.

The pain will settle down. My most recent one (the chip) was a few weeks ago and took a good week or so for all my teeth to stop hurting, but now feels back to normal.

In terms of fixing it - I had a root canal for the one that came out, it did not hurt and was totally fine, I think it is worth finding an endodontist (root specialist) if you can afford it, they have just done loads and will probably get better outcomes. I was told it could go black and need replacing with an implant within 5 years, fingers crossed that was 10 years ago and even though I bashed it again with the recent fall it still looks and feels fine!

Mentally I found it very traumatic the first time I did this. Be kind to yourself, you will feel better about it but you may well feel anxious and upset by it. It will get better in time but also I think I should have had some counselling really, while it can be seen as a “small” injury it is quite an impactful accident.

Sorry - hadn’t seen endodontist had already come up.

Obviously your dentist will be best placed to advise, but I wouldn’t assume you need to jump straight to an implant.

A crown or some composite filling (excellent these days!) might well make the tooth good enough for many years.

I’ve had a fake front tooth since I was 14. So nearly forty years ago now. Root canal and crown and it’s fine.

Sorry I hadn’t read properly that you’ve had the pain for 6 weeks or so, I do remember from my first one where the tooth came out it took a long time to get better, it’s a lot of healing. You will get there - and take painkillers! That’s what they’re for.

My dentist told me that two veneers were offered to ensure a perfect match , but it would be ill advised to touch a perfectly healthy tooth . I opted for the one and the shade is almost identical . For the tiny , minuscule difference which I can hardly detect I didn’t want to risk any work on my healthy front tooth . The root canal does not hurt , but it shakes up all the ligaments in your jaw and this can cause an ache for longer even though the root has gone . Now all I feel is a strange feeling if I push down on the bone under my nostril on the same side !!!
Good luck