How Long it takes for Dental Trauma to Heal? (2024)

May 01, 2023

Accidents can happen involving you either when driving to work or your kid when playing around. Dental trauma can occur with anyone at some point in their lives on specific days. How you deal with the traumatized tooth depends on the severity of the incident. This article discusses traumatized teeth and the steps you can take with your dentist to restore your tooth’s health.

What Causes Dental Trauma?

Many incidents can cause dental trauma. For example, you may receive an impact on your mouth in contact sporting activity or a driving accident. Dental trauma can also occur at home from domestic events or altercations with unknown people.

Children may have traumatized teeth when playing sports without mouth protectors or falling at home to impact their mouth on the floor or other surfaces. Regardless of the cause, you must seek treatment for your child from the pediatric dentist in Scarsdale, NY, to ensure they don’t lose a tooth to need space maintainers or replacement solutions depending on their age.

Time Taken for Dental Trauma to Heal

The severity of the dental trauma you experience will determine how much time you need to recover from the injury. For example, if the internal nerve structure sustained no damage from the incident, you will need six weeks to heal. In such cases, most damage is suffered by the surrounding tissue supporting your tooth, causing swelling and inflammation that heals in a few weeks.

Unfortunately, if your tooth structure sustained internal damage, you receive treatment for the dental trauma in Westchester, NY, from the dentist recommending a root canal. The procedure helps eliminate the dead and necrotic tissue from the tooth’s nerve chamber to prevent infections in the area. A root canal removes and kills the nerve tissue inside the tooth. If you refuse a root canal, the tooth starts discoloring from the leakage of blood tissue in the tooth to aggravate your situation. Discolored teeth from nerve damage require internal bleaching after a root canal to restore your tooth to optimal shape.

How to Cure Dental Trauma?

Dentists have several techniques to cure dental trauma. However, the cure they offer depends on the severity of your situation.

  • If your incident caused minimal damage, dentists suggest no treatment is better than treating it.
  • Dental crowns or fillings may represent the cure if you have a broken or fractured tooth.
  • A root canal becomes essential if the internal nerve tissue sustained damage during the dental trauma.
  • If the dental trauma has fractured in the root, you will need an extraction and replacement solution with artificial solutions unless you prefer receiving treatment from family orthodontics Scarsdale to counter the adverse effects of tooth loss.

Don’t Traumatized Teeth Heal by Themselves?

If your dental trauma caused minimal damage, the chances of the tooth healing by itself are high. Unfortunately, if the tooth suffers an internal injury, you will need further treatment to alleviate your problems. Therefore, you must seek help from the Scarsdale dentist to understand your situation and take appropriate preventive measures to safeguard your dental health as best as possible.

What Happens If You Suffered Severe Dental Trauma On A Tooth?

If your tooth underwent severe dental trauma, chances are high that it may get displaced or discolored over time. If displaced, the dentist will splint the tooth to the adjacent teeth to allow its roots to reattach and prevent moving it for two weeks before removing the splint and testing the tooth for mobility. The dentist performs a root canal to avoid dental infections if the tooth stabilizes. They also check for fractures in the bone tissue surrounding the tooth.

Unfortunately, if your tooth has broken, they recommend a dental cap to restore and prevent additional damage. If your tooth loosens, the treatment is similar to the displaced tooth. The tooth will need re-examining in a couple of weeks after splinting to the neighboring teeth. However, if the tooth does not stabilize with the splinting it needs removal and replacement with a dental implant or bridge.

What Happens with Nerve Death inside a Traumatized Tooth?

As mentioned earlier, dental trauma may involve the nerve tissue inside the tooth. If the nerve sustains damage, the blood vessels inside the tooth collapse and leak. The leakage causes your tooth to discolor, making a root canal essential. If left untreated, the tooth becomes infected and will eventually require extraction because it becomes unsalvageable.

Whenever you suffer minor or severe dental trauma, it helps if you meet your dentist to determine the severity of the damage and receive prompt treatment. Delaying the treatment results in additional expenditure and loss of teeth in many situations.

Smile Scarsdale receives many patients including children with dental trauma and provides suitable remedies for traumatized teeth after determining the complexity of their situation. If affected by dental trauma, whether minor or severe, kindly arrange an appointment with them to receive treatment as soon as possible.

How Long it takes for Dental Trauma to Heal? (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take for dental trauma to heal? ›

It depends on the type of injury you had. Minor traumas, like soft tissue injuries, may heal in less than one week. Tooth trauma typically heals in about four to six weeks unless damage reaches your tooth pulp. In these instances, it could take several months for a full recovery.

How long does it take for a mouth injury to heal? ›

What to Expect: Small cuts and scrapes inside the mouth heal up in 3 or 4 days. Infections of mouth injuries are rare.

How long does dental nerve damage take to heal? ›

Nerve damage may be temporary and can take up to 6 months to heal, however in severe cases, the nerve damage after extracting a wisdom tooth can be permanent. Many people experience numbness or tingling in the face or jaw after their wisdom teeth are removed. After a few days it should return to normal.

How long does a damaged gum take to heal? ›

Healing time

While your gums are tender and may bleed easier than other areas of the body, they're also more likely to heal quickly. You can expect a minor cut on the gums to heal within 3 to 4 days. The anticipated healing time may be longer if the cut is more severe and needs stitches or if it becomes infected.

Can gums regrow after trauma? ›

While your gums won't grow back on their own, surgical treatment can be used to replace the missing tissue, and restore both your appearance and your oral health. Gum grafting involves taking soft tissue from another part of the mouth and grafting it onto your gums.

Can a tooth nerve heal after trauma? ›

In some cases, nerve pain in the tooth can go away on its own if the cause of it is temporary. For example, nerve pain from a cracked tooth may go away if the crack does not deepen and the nerve is left undamaged. However, nerve pain from decay, trauma, or infection will likely not go away on its own.

How can I speed up mouth healing? ›

Here are eight tips for a faster recovery.
  1. Protect the Surgical Area.
  2. Rest.
  3. Stick to a Soft Diet.
  4. Stay Hydrated.
  5. Avoid Alcohol and Tobacco.
  6. Use a Cold Compress.
  7. Take Pain Medication.
  8. Practice Good Oral Hygiene.
Feb 21, 2017

How can I speed up the healing of a mouth wound? ›

How can you care for yourself at home?
  1. Rinse your mouth with warm salt water right after meals. Saltwater rinses may help healing. ...
  2. Eat soft foods that are easy to swallow.
  3. Avoid foods that might sting. ...
  4. Try using a topical medicine, such as Orabase, to reduce mouth pain.

How to heal mouth trauma? ›

Try this:
  1. Rinse with saltwater once a day to aid healing.
  2. Consider arnica supplements from the drugstore or health food store to decrease swelling and bruising.
  3. Chewing garlic is a folk remedy believed to kill bacteria in the mouth and prevent infection. ...
  4. Avoid foods that might sting, such as citrus and spicy food.
Nov 18, 2019

How long do tooth ligaments take to heal? ›

To help it heal faster, prevent further damage or strain to your ligament and tooth. For instance, significant chewing, biting, and speaking can worsen your symptoms. Avoid chewing on the affected tooth, and eat a soft diet to help you recover faster. Typically, recovery can take 2 – 4 weeks or longer.

How long does it take for a tooth to discolor after trauma? ›

Discoloration of an injured tooth indicates bleeding beneath the pulp and tooth enamel and is starting to surge to the tooth's surface causing a darkening appearance. This darkening can take place over several days or even months.

Why is my tooth pain not going away? ›

A dull, persistent toothache could mean you have an infected tooth. It could also be a sign that you grind your teeth when you sleep. A sharp, stabbing pain might mean that you have a cavity or crack in your tooth. Sometimes, it means there's an issue with an existing filling or crown.

How long does it take for gum tissue to grow back? ›

Your gums are a finite resource. Unfortunately, once they've pulled back from your teeth, they won't regenerate or regrow on their own.

How long does it take for gum tissue to regenerate? ›

On the other hand, gum tissues (gingiva) heal relatively quickly. Most gingiva at an extraction site or implant site will heal within a couple of weeks. Since only a small opening is made in the gingiva for implant surgery, you can expect minor soreness for 2-3 days.

Can it take months for gums to heal? ›

While individual experiences vary, gums generally take weeks to months to heal fully after deep cleaning teeth. Consistent oral hygiene practices and any additional recommendations from your dentist contribute to a speedier recovery.

What are the long term effects of dental trauma? ›

The long term effects include tooth migration, jawbone loss and even the eventual loss of additional remaining teeth. Thus as noted, dental trauma and the physical effects are usually given priority within the clinical context.

What is the most common traumatic dental injury? ›

Chipped or Broken Teeth

Chipped teeth are the most common dental injury, according to the American Association of Endodontists. If teeth have been chipped or fractured, or if they are loose or tender to the touch, make sure to see a dentist within 12 hours.

How do you treat traumatic teeth injury? ›

IMMEDIATE TREATMENT No treatment. If needed, stabilize the tooth for 2 weeks using a flexible splint (up to 0.016” or 0.4mm). Rinse the affected area with saline. Reposition the tooth by gently reinserting it into the socket.

How do you know if your tooth is damaged from trauma? ›

Sometimes, the damage to your teeth might not be entirely visible. If a tooth is cracked, chipped or loose after an accident, it's important to see a dentist as soon as possible. This will help to avoid long-term damage. Other signs of dental injury are toothache and swelling of the gums.

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