If you have a cracked tooth, you may be feeling pain and wondering how quickly it will heal.
This is also an important part of being able to eat normally again. One key takeaway is unfortunately that most cracked teeth don’t heal on their own.
However, in some cases, natural remedies may help restore parts of the tooth.
In this article, we’ll provide some tips for faster healing and relief.
We also note that red light therapy devices can help promote healing in general by stimulating the mitochondria.
How to Know if You Have a Cracked Tooth
Pain and sensitivity to heat or cold are the most noticeable indicators that you have a cracked tooth. Other symptoms may include gum swelling around the tooth and discomfort when the mouth is wide open.
In some cases, such as with an older crack that has been left untreated, you may notice tooth discoloration. Cracked teeth may be visible in the mirror.
Minor cracks called “craze lines” require closer inspection with a magnifying glass to be visible. Craze lines are thin, barely noticeable lines on the enamel surface that indicate a fracture.
A tooth crack may also be severe and extend all the way to the root. Major cracks are usually easily visible and can be felt with the tongue — and they are often very painful.
Your dentist may recommend not treating minor cracks that only affect the enamel. The crack will need close monitoring with more frequent dental visits to prevent further tooth damage, but may not get worse over time if you commit to good oral hygiene and exercise caution with hard foods.
Cracks that extend deeper than the enamel and/or cracks that involve the root must be repaired as soon as possible by a dentist.
It’s important to seek the help of a dentist rather than leaving a cracked tooth untreated. They can lead to more serious problems including periodontal disease, and loss of the tooth if it is not treated immediately.
What Causes a Cracked Tooth?
Cracked teeth can happen due to trauma from an injury. They can also occur when you bite down on something hard.
Teeth grinding, old age, sudden major temperature changes, large old fillings or dental restorations are other common causes.
Some prescription and recreational drugs cause dryness in the mouth. If the mouth isn’t producing enough saliva, harmful bacteria can build up in the mouth, weakening the teeth and making them more vulnerable to cracking.
Tooth decay due to poor oral hygiene can also lead to brittle teeth that are more prone to cracking.
Natural Solutions for Fixing a Cracked Tooth
A major tooth crack must be repaired by a dentist.
However, in the meantime, there may be a few natural remedies that can help alleviate the pain and sensitivity.
Saltwater
This is an effective way to promote healing of the soft tissue around a cracked tooth. Saltwater rinses will not cause tooth cracks to heal, but they will relieve pain and kill bacteria that could cause an infection. Mix ½ teaspoon in an 8-oz glass of lukewarm water. Swish the mixture around in your mouth for 30 seconds, and spit it out.
Ginger Root
Fresh ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory with pain-relieving properties. Cut a small piece of fresh ginger root, and try chewing on the root.
Peppermint Tea Bag
Peppermint tea contains tannic acid, which can relieve tooth pain and sensitivity. Boil water, add a peppermint tea bag, and allow the bag to steep until the tea bag is at a comfortable temperature. Place the tea bag against the tooth and leave it in place for 10-15 minutes. You can also drink the tea, but placing the tea bag against the tooth will have the best results.
Clove Oil
As with any essential oil, mix a few drops of clove oil with a carrier oil like coconut oil. Dip a cotton swab in the mixture, and apply it to the tooth. Leave it in place for 15 minutes. You can follow this with a salt water rinse or simply rinse with warm water. Repeat several times a day.
Garlic
Garlic has powerful anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It is also a pain reliever. Be sure to use fresh garlic for this use. Crush a clove of garlic and mix with a little water. Apply the mixture to the cracked tooth and leave it in place for 10-15 minutes. The taste will be very strong at first, but will subside over time. Follow with a salt water or fresh water rinse.
Guava Leaves
If they’re available locally, boil several guava leaves in water. Let the mixture steep for 15 minutes and remove the leaves. Use a cotton swab to apply the mixture to the cracked tooth for pain relief. You can use this remedy several times a day.
Ice
Ice packs can help relieve pain and inflammation. Most commonly, you would apply ice to your cheek rather than putting it in your mouth, since a cracked tooth can be extremely cold-sensitive. Wrap an ice pack in a towel and leave it in place for 15 minutes. You can repeat this several times a day.
Ice/Heat
An alternative to using ice packs is to use a combination of ice (1 minute) and heat (3 minutes) alternating them for a total of 15 minutes. This will boost circulation to the area to help with healing.
OTC Pain Relievers
Although they do not treat the underlying symptoms, OTC pain relievers can reduce pain and inflammation.
Of course, users should not exceed the recommended dose of any medication. If the pain is too severe for home treatment, patients should seek professional medical care.
Home Dental Hygiene
Tooth enamel can’t ‘grow back.’
However, enamel can be remineralized using toothpastes and mouthwashes that contain calcium, phosphates, and fluoride. These compounds use minerals from the saliva and deposit them on the tooth surface.
This remineralizing process could potentially fill in microscopic cracks on the enamel, but isn’t enough to seal large cracks — and it won’t close up any existing dental cavities, either.
Sugary and acidic foods de-mineralize teeth, whereas good oral hygiene and low-sugar diets remineralize the teeth.
While enamel must be repaired by a dentist, it is possible to regrow dentin using red light therapy. Dentin is the hard substance just beneath the enamel.
And unlike enamel, dentin is living tissue. Beneath the dentin lies softer dental pulp, which is also living tissue that can be regenerated.
Red Light Therapy for Natural Healing
The remedies mentioned above can help significantly with pain relief, reducing inflammation, and healing the soft tissue around a tooth but they will not heal cracks in the enamel or dentin.
However, the news isn’t all bad!
Recently, red light therapy has been used to successfully treat receding gums, gingivitis and periodontal disease. It is also used to heal and regrow bone.
Most importantly, some studies suggest that the treatment can help regrow dentin and dental pulp.
If a tooth crack extends deeper than the enamel, it will need to be repaired by a dentist. But the patient may be able to restore healthy dental pulp and dentin, and speed up the healing process by using red light therapy.
How it Works
Near-infrared light has the ability to penetrate deep into the body, including through bones and teeth. It can stimulate beneficial biological processes in the dentin, and possibly regrow it to help close minor cracks that go beyond the enamel.
Red light treatment works to heal teeth in several ways:
- It can reduce pain. In one study, researchers found that red light therapy temporarily decreases cellular energy production in sensory nerves and acts as a nerve block. It also reduces tooth sensitivity in bleached teeth.
- It decreases inflammation within the dentin in teeth that have been bleached. In addition, researchers found more mature collagen fibers after just three treatments.
- It increases blood circulation to the odontoblasts, boosts their viability, and increases odontoblast metabolic processes.
- Red light therapy can regenerate dentin, which is vital to tooth restoration. A recent study found that red light therapy can induce dental pulp cell mineralization. Dental pulp is the soft tissue encased in dentin. Its main function is to grow new dentin. A similar study revealed that red light therapy increased odontoblast density.
This is exciting news because it suggests that red light therapy may stimulate the formation of new dentin.
Red light therapy should not be thought of as a substitute to tooth repair, but could be a useful complementary strategy for repairing a cracked tooth.
How to Use Red Light Therapy at Home to Help Heal a Cracked Tooth
We simply recommend getting full-body exposure to RLT panels for 5-20 minutes on a daily basis.
It may seem counterintuitive, but full-body treatment is what stimulates the mitochondria for healing throughout the body, including the mouth. This is what optimizes and bolsters the immune system rather than targeting one part of the body for treatment.
PlatinumLED has the most advanced red light therapy panels on the market in a variety of sizes that are convenient, affordable, and can be used in the comfort of your home.
There are so many different applications for red light therapy, ranging from regrowing gums to easing neuropathy pain and low back pain, muscle recovery, and anti-aging.
Check out the BIOMAX Series red light therapy panels for more information.
