Your teeth endure a great deal of wear and tear on a daily basis, but biting down on a hard food item can cause a tooth to crack, chip, or fracture. Tooth breakage disrupts the appearance of your smile, but it could also put your oral health at risk by heightening the chances of contracting an infection in your tooth pulp.
To prevent further harm to your smile, you should visit your dentist for prompt restorative treatment if you break a tooth. But you can also protect your teeth by knowing which foods could hurt your smile. Dr. Matthew Jenne, a dentist serving patients in Garner, NC, lists four food items that may lead to tooth breakage and require emergency dental intervention.
4 Foods That Could Cause Tooth Breakage
Popcorn
Popcorn is a popular snack that you can enjoy out at a movie theater or from the comfort of your own home. People love its light and fluffy texture, but you may also find unpopped kernels in your bowl.
If you bite one of these hard kernels, you could cause serious damage to your teeth. A crack in your tooth will grow deeper if left alone, so you should reach out to your dentist for emergency dental treatment if suspect that you broke a tooth.
Bagels
Bagels and other hard bread can help you build a delicious sandwich. You may imagine that bread is soft, but bagels are quite dense in structure, meaning you generate more pressure than you think when you bite into them. Abnormally high amounts of pressure on your teeth could lead to tooth breakage, so be careful when you eat these types of bread.
Hard Candy
Hard candies like lollipops and candy canes are made from boiled sugary syrups that solidify as they cool to form sweet treats. They are designed to be sucked on for extended periods, but many people feel tempted to bite down on these candies before they have dissolved.
This poses a major risk of hurting your teeth, so you should refrain from this behavior. If you do suffer a broken tooth, your dentist will likely treat the injury by sealing and shielding the tooth with a dental crown.
Corn on the Cob
Eating corn straight from the cob is fun, but your teeth are not built to bite into the core of an ear of corn in this way. Grating teeth against the cob could cause teeth to fracture. You may also be at risk of harming prior dental work, dislodging a dental filling or crown.
Treat Broken Teeth with Your Dentist in Garner, NC
Garner Family and Cosmetic Dentistry offers both preventative and emergency dentistry solutions to patients in Garner, NC. Dr. Jenne specializes in general, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry, including tooth replacement treatments, for patients of all ages. To schedule an appointment with our practice, contact our office by phone at 919.238.3470 or reach a member of our staff online.