Orthodontics Orange County, CA

Orthodontic Treatment

Accidents can cause severe mouth injuries and substantial dental damages. Whether you were injured in a motor vehicle accident, a slip and fall accident, or some other personal injury, the long-term functional and aesthetic health of your teeth could be at risk. If you have sustained an oral cavity injury that has potentially impacted the alignment of your teeth, seek out a qualified and credentialed orthodontist as soon as possible. 

While everyone wants an attractive smile, healthy teeth and jaws are also crucial for your overall well-being. Damaged teeth can deteriorate further and be vulnerable to infections. Teeth and jaws that are incorrectly aligned are more difficult to keep clean. Jaw and teeth injuries can make eating and speaking challenging.

Common Accident-Related Dental Injuries

The human mouth is a complicated structure, and dental injuries occur in a wide range of ways. Some of the most common injuries that result from accidents include:

Lost (avulsed) Tooth: A tooth that has been completely knocked out of its socket is known as an avulsed tooth. This is often an incredibly painful injury that usually requires immediate emergency attention. If you can find and recover the lost tooth and store it properly, a dentist may be able to put it back in, but only within a few hours of the injury. 

Broken Tooth: A tooth that has been broken may be partially chipped, cracked, or fractured. A dental professional may be able to repair the tooth and save everything that remains. Once again, this is not entirely possible in all cases, but with quick intervention from a qualified dental professional, your odds of saving injured teeth may dramatically increase.

Loosened (luxated) Tooth: Accidents can lead to a tooth that becomes wobbly or dislodged. A tooth may be pushed forward, backward, sideways, or further into its own socket. These teeth will need to be pushed back into place by a dental professional. An orthodontist may need to apply a dental device to straighten or reposition the loose or dislodged tooth.

Damaged Root: Mouth damage from an accident can be severe but not actually visible to the naked eye. While you can easily see the effects of a missing or broken tooth, you cannot always see root damage. However, fixing root damage is essential. Firstly, because a damaged tooth root can be incredibly painful, even more so than a broken tooth. And furthermore, because a damaged root will eventually die and the tooth will die as well. Moreover, a damaged root can develop a painful infection that could soon spread to your gums, jaw, and other teeth.

These injuries may require an orthodontist from a clinic like John Redmond Orthodontics to repair and restore your oral health. Particularly, if you are concerned about the impact to your bite or the changes in spacing between your teeth, it is a good idea to have an orthodontist assess what can be done.