Don’t Let A Broken Tooth Ruin Your Plans

Airline tickets? Check!

Mail held? Check!

A neighbor has a key so they can feed the dog? Check!

Hotel confirmed? Check!

Vacation email autoresponder? Check!

Bags packed? Check!

Time for a relaxing lunch? Check! And CRACK! I think that was my tooth!

We’ve all been there. All the plans are in place. Everything is set for that vacation or trip out of town. We’ll be gone for a week or more. Then it happens – the unexpected thing that we need to deal with before leaving. Or wait for it to get worse while we’re gone.

Some things can wait, like a flat tire on the car, you won’t be taking to the airport. Or the cable service appointment needs to reschedule.

Other things can’t wait, like a leaky pipe under the sink. Or your medication accidentally went down the sink. Or your tooth cracks during dinner the night before. You’ve been looking forward to this trip for weeks. The city you’re going to has some of your favorite foods and restaurants. Or you’ve got the presentation to the board several hours after your flight lands. Everything needs to be perfect for this trip. You can’t let a broken tooth get in your way. Food getting stuck while you’re eating. Tooth shocks every time you drink something even a little hotter or colder than room temperature. You want it fixed and you want it fixed NOW!

You don’t have to. You can have it fixed and you can have it fixed NOW! Before you leave for your trip.

Just last week, one of our patients called first thing in the morning. Opening at 7 AM, that gives us the whole day to get things taken care of. He said he was eating breakfast and felt something crunch, and it wasn’t Cap’n! He came right in and before he sat down, he said he was leaving town for a month. They had some family things they needed to take care of out of state and wanted to get his tooth fixed so they could focus on the family stuff.

The broken part was too big for a regular filling and too small to justify a crown. We decided on a ceramic onlay. It covered part of the biting surface of the tooth but left as much natural tooth surface as possible intact.

We removed all the broken and decayed parts of the tooth as we refined and designed the tooth for the porcelain puzzle-piece onlay. We took a 3D picture of the tooth and designed the onlay on the computer. The design was sent to the milling machine we have in our lab and in about 10 minutes, we had the onlay ready to bond into the tooth. And he was able to get on the plane and focus on his family and not a painful broken tooth.

I know it’s not like Superman catching a school bus filled with kids that just went over a cliff, but we were able to remove a pain point for him. I know his trip out of town was much more enjoyable and meaningful than it could have been had he left with that broken and painful tooth.

In about the time it takes to watch a movie, he had his tooth fixed and he was on his way.

Our goal is to get you to a point where you only think about your teeth when you’re brushing and flossing. You shouldn’t have your day disrupted by your teeth. If that’s the case, we can sit down and plan a path to get there for you.

There’s an old saying that goes something like, “When is the best time to plant a tree? About 20 years ago. When’s the second best time to plant a tree? Right now!”

That goes for taking care of your teeth. When’s the best time to take care of a broken tooth? Before it breaks. When’s the second-best time to take care of a broken tooth? Right now!

Unless there’s a good reason, the best time to place a crown or onlay is the day the tooth is prepared. The tooth is cleanest. There’s less trauma to the tooth. Fewer times getting numb. Fewer trips to the office. Less time in the chair. Just to name a few.

You may not be heading out of town tomorrow. Your tooth may not have crumbled during breakfast. But think of that tooth that we’ve been “keeping an eye on” for the past few years. Now may be the time to take care of it while you’re in control of the impact it has on your schedule.

We all have places we’d rather be and things we’d rather be doing, but if it’s doable and fits within your schedule, we’ll do our very best to make sure you get your tooth fixed today.

Call (440) 483-1003 to schedule your appointment to see how same-day dentistry can help you focus on the other important things in your life.

Yours in Dental Health,
Jason Schermer, DDS