If your teeth have gone numb, you may be feeling despair and defeat, wondering what your next step is and if any options are available. There are several treatment options, ranging from simple procedures to more severe, permanent alterations.
Preventative Care
The easiest way to avoid needing treatment is to avoid injuring or harming the tooth in the first place. When engaging in sports that may injure your mouth be sure to wear the proper safety gear. You should also make sure to practice dental hygiene, brushing twice a day and flossing daily to ensure that bacteria don't build up to the point that more invasive methods are needed.
Drilling to the Root of the Problem
Most commonly, the solution to a numbed or deadened tooth is not necessarily to treat that tooth, but to ensure that the problem cannot go on to other teeth, by a process called a root canal. During a root canal, we remove the pulp and surrounding infected matter of your dead tooth, then fill the inside with gutta-percha (a natural latex polymer) and seal it to ensure that the infection does not spread to other teeth.
This is not always a viable solution, however. Sometimes, the dead tooth will have to removed entirely, via a tooth extraction. If this happens, we typically replace the lost tooth with an implant or bridge. For particularly severe cases, a partial or full denture may be required to prevent your good teeth from shifting around or loosening, or bone and gingiva loss which can lead to more problems in the future.
If your tooth is numb, you should contact us immediately before the problem has a chance to escalate further, to see what treatment we recommend to save your mouth from permanent, potentially disfiguring damage.