Dental Trauma
What is dental trauma?
Dental trauma is physical injury to the teeth, gums, the alveolar bone (the bone that holds the tooth sockets), or the soft tissue of the mouth, including the lips and tongue. There are several sorts of injury that fall into the category of dental trauma, including the following:
- Tooth fractures, including root fractures, enamel fractures, etc.
- Tooth jammed into socket (intrusion)
- Fracture of the tooth socket wall
- Tooth knocked loose (subluxation
- Lacerations of the lips
- Lacerations of the gums
- Tooth knocked out (avulsion)
- Jaw fracture
- Lacerations of the gums
What are the causes of dental trauma?
Most cases of dental trauma are caused by accidents, including falls, vehicle collisions, and playing sports. Some cases are thanks to being involved in violent incidents, like fighting or physical abuse.
Types of dental trauma
Fracture
- Superficial fracture means the fracture is confined only to the enamel, the hard outer covering of the crown of the tooth. this is often usually not serious unless the fracture leaves the tooth with a pointy edge. Even then, the sharp edge are often filed down easily.
- Serious fracture: If your tooth becomes sensitive to the touch , heat or cold, the fracture could also be more serious. it’s going to have exposed the inner, more sensitive parts of the tooth like the dentine and therefore the pulp. this will increase the danger of bacterial infections.
Displacement
A more severe knock may displace the tooth in order that it’s going to sink deeper into the socket or hang loosely out of it. The tooth could also be displaced to the side. If the blow is extremely severe, it’s going to knock the tooth out completely or fracture the supporting bone.
In most cases of tooth displacement, the fragile blood vessels supplying the pulp are damaged and therefore the tooth would require a passage treatment.