If you’ve been having some tooth pain after an oral incident you may be starting to wonder if you have a bruised tooth. Whether you’re doing research on tooth bruised, bruised gums, bruising teeth, or bruised teeth, the fact of the matter is that what you really want to know is what are bruised tooth symptoms? Can it be caused by bruised tooth ligament? What are some other bruised tooth causes? And, perhaps the main thing is what is the best-bruised tooth treatment? Before we answer those questions and more, let’s take a look at what the experts of dental medicine have to say on the topic of what is a bruised tooth.
Most oral emergencies relate to pain, bleeding, or orofacial trauma and should be attended to by a dentist. (Roberts G et al.,2001).
Injuries to the primary teeth may not require minimal emergency care, but even seemingly mild injuries can damage the permanent teeth(Roberts G et al.,2001).
Unfortunately, as many as 30% of children have damaged permanent teeth by the age of 15 years (Roberts G et al.,2001).
What causes a bruised tooth?
There are unfortunately a wide variety of potential causes when it comes to bruised teeth. Bruised teeth can be caused by something as mundane as clenching your teeth too hard, grinding your teeth, nail chewing, or of course something more extreme like dental trauma or a painful dental procedure.
The fact of the matter is that anytime your teeth are subjected to too much force or a little bit of force over a long but continuous period of time you may very likely experience bruised teeth. It is even possible to get bruised teeth from eating hard foods too often or for too long. Simply put, your teeth are more sensitive than they may seem. It’s important to remember that your teeth are part of your skeletal system and underneath their hard exterior there are a whole host of sensitive nerves and gums which can easily become damaged.
What are the symptoms of a bruised tooth?
Symptoms of a bruised tooth are fortunately easily understandable. One of the major symptoms is of course pain. This is usually the one that most people notice. Inflamed ligaments in the gums around the tooth can cause dull and sometimes even acute pain. Fortunately, while this may be uncomfortable, the good news is that if your bruised tooth was not caused by some particularly traumatic experience but instead by something like biting nails then the good news is that you’re not likely to experience acute pain immediately.
Acute tooth pain from bruising usually is the result of trauma such as getting hit in the face with something. If you are experiencing dull low pain then you may have bruised a tooth. Other symptoms can include discoloration and bleeding of the gums and even tooth discoloration. If you’re noticing any of these symptoms, it’s always best to visit your dental office.
While it may be a bruised tooth, there’s also the possibility that it may be something else and having your dentist take a look to ensure that it’s something as mundane as a bruised tooth can help to ensure your long-term oral health.
What a bruised tooth looks like and why?
A bruised tooth, also sometimes referred to as a sprained tooth, it is just like it sounds, a bruise. Whether it’s caused by acute trauma over a short period of time or more pronounced damage caused over a longer and slower period of time, there is a result that is unfortunately the same, you are likely to have swollen and inflamed gums. These often appear red and sensitive to the touch.
You may also notice that your tooth might feel a little loose if the damage was acute. Your tooth may also change color and become a bit duller and this is possible because of damage to the nerves underneath the enamel causing the bruise to eventually show through. Just like how you can develop a bruise on other parts of your body that are visible showing the damage underneath the skin, the same can happen with teeth although it takes a longer period of time for the damage to become visible through the enamel.
How is a bruised tooth treated?
While all of this may sound scary and unpleasant, there is some good news and that is that bruised teeth are not a dental emergency. Now if you’re having acute bruised teeth due to some oral accident, that certainly would demand you see a dentist just in case the issue is more complex; however, generally speaking, bruised teeth are not a worrisome dental problem.
This is one of the few times where many orthodontic and dental offices will say that if your symptom is only a bruised tooth, you probably do not need to come in for any kind of treatment. The fact of the matter is that the best treatment you can do is to stop what has caused the bruising in the first place. If you compulsively grind or clench your teeth, bite your nails, or eat large amounts of gummy or crispy foods, simply reducing these things will allow your tooth to heal on its own.
As mentioned before, if the damage is caused because of blunt force trauma it may be a good idea to visit your dental office but generally speaking, the best thing you can do for a bruised tooth is to stop whatever caused the problem in the first place and allow it to heal on its own.
If you notice the pain is persistent and does not seem to be going away with time, then you may need to schedule an orthodontic appointment just to check and make sure there are no other underlying issues or that you have correctly addressed what the cause is in the first place. For instance, many individuals do not know that they may clench their teeth while they sleep causing bruised teeth even while they are not awake. Talking with your dental office can help to identify any issues you may have which will allow your bruised teeth to heal letting you enjoy a pain-free smile.
Reference:
Roberts, G., Scully, C., &Shotts, R. (2001).Dental emergencies.Western Journal of Medicine, 175(1), 51–54.
