You tripped, you fell and now you have found yourself with a part of your tooth in your hands….or in this particular case you sleep walk and fell out of a window in a one story building, land on the asphalt with your face!
A complicated crown/root fracture is common in trip and fall injuries. In this form of fracture, the crown is fractured with the fracture extending below the gum line, involving the root of the tooth.
This is the kind of fracture we typically see portrayed in movies. This is a dental emergency and you should see a Dental professional right away. Most of these dental injuries are typically missed in the Emergency Room, as they are focusing on other parts of the body. Most dental injuries are found much later.
The sooner that you are evaluated, the sooner you will be able to have a replacement tooth. With each passing day there is more damage to the surrounding bone, possibly preventing you from having an immediate implant placement.
We will work quickly in order to assess the restorability of the tooth. If the crown is fractured under the gum line, the recommendation is typically extraction, as there is no way to fix something that is broken that deep.
A 3D CBCT of the face and involved tooth is taken, to assess the fractured tooth, and to rule out fractures of the facial bones. If we determine that the is enough bone around the fractured tooth, then you will be able to have an immediate implant to replace the fractured tooth. This is all done in one setting. Below is the same person a week later. This can only be done with CBCT guided implants.