Aesthetic management of traumatized anterior teeth

The emergency of a traumatically injured tooth occurs frequently in a general dental practice. Patients, staff, and dentist should know what restorative techniques are available to manage the crisis. When the emergency occurs, the patient is probably going to call the dental office. The staff must be prepared for triage of the emergency so that the dentist can plan on the best course of action to manage the clinical circumstance. One method of triaging an emergency caused by traumatic injury to the tooth is by using a short questionnaire that can be completed either by the office staff member taking the telephone call or by the patient if present. This can provide important information for the treatment of the situation. Clinically, the traumatized anterior tooth needs immediate attention. The pulpal status of the tooth needs to be assessed and in the case of tooth or restoration fracture, the circumstances many times dictate an immediate restorative treatment to correct an unaesthetic situation. This article provides the dentist and staff with a variety of restorative techniques that address the aesthetic management of anterior teeth that have been traumatized.