Anterior tooth trauma
Introduction
Especially with small children, schoolchildren and adolescents it can happen that an incisor is affected in the course of a fall. The so-called “front tooth trauma” (broken incisor) is one of the most common injuries in the oral cavity. In general, it can be assumed that in every second person at least once within the first 50 years of life an incisor has broken off.
While anterior trauma in the lower jaw is comparatively rare, impairments of the anterior teeth of the upper jaw are frequently observed in clinical routine. If an incisor is broken off, it is urgent to clarify whether the impaired tooth can be preserved. In this context, it should be determined whether only a portion of the tooth substance lying above the gum margin has broken off or whether the bone cavity and/or the surrounding gums have also been affected.
Since traumatic events, such as a fall, blow or impact, can lead to anterior trauma, additional possible concomitant injuries must be excluded. For this reason, depending on the course of the accident, an X-ray examination of the jaw and midface should be performed. In people who have broken an incisor, bone fractures in the area of the upper and lower jaw, the zygomatic bone and the eye socket must be excluded.
In addition, a broken incisor is often accompanied by other complaints. Whether and what kind of complaints occur in connection with the broken incisor depends mainly on the extent of the tooth damage. Especially when an anterior tooth is almost completely “broken off”, there is usually a lot of pain and bleeding.
With a slightly pronounced trauma of the anterior tooth, however, the affected patient only perceives an optical impairment. Pain is rather rare in these cases. Nevertheless, an anterior tooth that has been broken off should urgently lead to a visit to the dentist. Particularly in the case of a pronounced anterior trauma in children or adolescents, the tooth can be preserved if necessary with immediate treatment.
