Broken Tooth, No Resources - Dental Health Message Board

Hishighness · 08-15-2006, 04:21 PM

Hey everyone,

A little background first. I've needed to get my wisdom teeth out now since I was a teenager (I'm 27 now) but for one reason or another (mostly money) I've never done it.

I was eating some gummi candy about 25 minutes ago and felt no pain, but my tounge moved down to my bottom left quadrant to the tooth 2nd from the back and I noticed part of it was now gone. The part where it meets my very back tooth is gone. There is still about 90% of the tooth left it looks like just the back "wall" of it is gone.

We had a fire in March that destroyed our Business and Home, as such we're pretty poor at the moment and I have no money whatsoever to be able to take care of this. Is there anything, a home remedy, simple reccomendations that can help me? I'm in no pain, even when I drink water or stick my tounge down in to the hole. But I'm worried about the whole thing breaking off and really putting me in to trouble.

Thanks for your time.

Edit: I live in Canada BTW, so I dunno if maybe there's some sort of emergency clause in our health care code that could help me or what.

lola32 · 08-18-2006, 08:38 PM

unfortunately there is no quick fix. It broke because it was weak, cracked or there is already decay there that undermined the structure. You should contact your local health department or free clinic and see if they can direct you to a clinic that bases its fees on income. They may even accept only what the ins. company pays and not charge you anything out of pocket. Try if you can because broken teeth are more prone to decay and decay more quickly than tooth structure that is protected by enamel.

BioAdoptMom3 · 08-18-2006, 09:30 PM

Is it your wisdom tooth that you broke? If so, having it pulled will probably be much cheaper and easier than having it fixed. You could also leave it alone and see what happens, though you will need to be careful and make sure to floss around it and brush it really well to help prevent decay or other problems. If it breaks off more I would definately get some help, but since 90% of it is still there, it is not showing and it is not causing you any pain or other problems it is probably OK to leave it alone until you feel you can afford treatment.

Nancy

ChinesePisces · 08-19-2006, 01:52 AM

Yeah I'm going to have to agree with the other 2 replies, get it extracted when you have the funds or if they have those clinics for low income then that's your best bet. I had a similar problem and waited a long time before extracting it. I think the longer you wait the more difficult it will be to remove because a decaying tooth is much more fragile. Basically it will be a pain for the the dentist. If you do begin to feel pain, Ambesol works well with asprin.

njoy · 08-22-2006, 01:56 AM

Actually, there is a method. WARNING: you can't stop this treatment until you get the tooth fixed but it keeps the problem under control until then. This is what you do: put a few drops of iodine in a small amount of warm water and swish the solution around your month. SPIT IT OUT.

I did this for over 25 years without any adverse effects. In the case of broken teeth, I had to put lots of iodine in the water, maybe 10 or more times a day. In a few days, you can cut back to just once or twice. For cavities that are not too bad you can start with the smaller amount. It depends on the pain you are feeling and the amount of damage to the tooth.

Eventually, you will find two or three drops of iodine, just once or twice a week is enough to keep up the good effects. Hopefully, you will have the tooth fixed before then. But cavities can be kept under control for years. In fact, they seem to disappear.

I'm not sure what the iodine does but the teeth are stronger and better and the pain stops. One dentist told me, "It looks like the old cavities have healed". Still, abscesses and broken teeth eventually MUST be taken care of by a dentist.

You can get iodine at the drug store or (maybe better) the health food store.
BE SURE TO SPIT IT OUT AFTER SWISHING THE SOLUTION AROUND YOUR MOUTH!! Iodine is not safe to swallow.

I know this sounds bizarre but it worked for me and several other people I know.