Dr. Ankur Aggarwal

Clove is a commonly known spice, which is native to the Asian cuisine. They are dried flower buds of a tree from the family of Myrtaceae. These buds are known to be harvested originally in Maluku Islands in Indonesia. The cloves are aromatic and is known to lend a sweet and earthy flavor to food. Historically, cloves have been used both for culinary and medicinal uses. As a culinary spice, clove is used in meat dishes, curries, drinks and marinades. It is widely used in Indian, Chinese, African and South Asian cuisine.

Cloves have amazing medicinal properties. The bud has been widely recognized as a wonder bud packed with health benefits. In India, cloves are an important element of Ayurvedic medicine. It’s warm and soothing properties are beneficial for treating digestive tract problems. Clove oil is used in aromatherapy and can also be used as an ant repellent, due to its strong smell.

Clove oil is extracted from cloves and contains a chemical compound called Eugenol. This compound not only lends aroma to the spice, but also possesses analgesic, antibacterial, antiseptic and anesthetic properties. It is for this reason, clove oil is used extensively in dentistry as an anodyne (A pain reliever). Its antiseptic and antibacterial properties are beneficial in treating infections and its anesthetic qualities are extremely helpful in relieving pain.

In painful teeth conditions like an abscessed tooth, infections, gum disease or even cavities, toothache can range from mild to sharp shooting and almost unbearable pain. The patient suffering from such conditions is usually put on antibiotics, thus, it is wise to recommend using Ayurvedic clove oil or Eugenol oil as it is commonly known for its pain relief properties. Eugenol helps in providing relief from pain by arresting the nerve tissues, causing a local anesthetic effect. However, it is strongly advised to use clove oil only under the guidance of a dentist.

Since Clove oil can alter blood sugar levels and is warm in nature and is not recommended for patients suffering from diabetes or bleeding disorders. Caution must be exercised as overuse of clove oil can cause nerve damage. If using at home, it is better to mix 2 to 3 drops of the clove oil along with half a teaspoon of olive oil and then apply the mixture to the painful area. The oil can also be applied using a cotton ball on the painful tooth with the help of tweezers; however, it is important that one should not keep the oil for more than 10 seconds on the affected area. It is also important not to swallow any oil as it can be harmful for your health. Drinking clove tea or chewing a clove till it releases its oil is much safer and effective way to use it, than using a clove oil.

So, next time you have a toothache, do not suffer. Try this medicinal gift, but stay safe. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

The treatment will depend on how severely the tooth was damaged.
Breaks can range from small chips to major fractures, so you might need a major procedure, a minor adjustment or no treatment at all. 
A tooth has three layers: the enamel is the hard outer shell, the dentin is found under the enamel, and the pulp, which is the nerve centre, is at the core.
Minor chips are common, and involve loss of some enamel. Usually, little or no pain is felt, 
But if enough tooth enamel is lost the dentin may be exposed which might cause sensitivity to cold.
The most severe breaks expose the pulp, which can cause extreme pain and even bleeding.
If you have a small chip in your tooth, make a routine dental appointment, and try an over the counter pain medicine for sensitivity as long as it is safe for you to take it. 
More serious fractures should be evaluated immediately. Rinse your mouth out with warm water, cover the break with a piece of clean gauze to protect it, and see the dentist as soon as possible. Apply an ice pack to minimize swelling if your mouth or lips were injured, and avoid using aspirin for pain because as it increases the risk of heavy bleeding.

Even if your tooth is only slightly chipped, the dentist is probably going to take an x-ray of the damaged tooth and recommend being gentle with it for a few days.
 A minor chip can often be smoothed out or repaired with white filling material, often without anesthetic. 
Even when a break is severe, a tooth can almost always be saved with a permanent crown if the pulp is not damaged. 
Postponing a crown or replaced filling that has been recommended can place the tooth at risk for a much more serious fracture- perhaps one that cannot be repaired. On those occasions when a tooth must be removed after a fracture, there are several options available for replacing the missing tooth – an implant is often the ideal choice for many people because it provides a permanent solution with a natural appearance.

You are in the middle of a hot summer afternoon and decide to have some ice to cool off. Suddenly you hear a crackle and something comes into your mouth that doesn't quite taste like ice. oops! That's a part of your broken teeth! Although your first instinct is to panic, don't worry as there are a lot of things dentists can do these days to fix chipped teeth.

A tooth may chip off for some other reasons too. Decay being one of the main culprits, it erodes the top enamel leaving the tooth exposed to decay. Taking an unsightly fall or getting your teeth broken in a fight are some of the other reasons why your teeth may break o partially chip off. Here are some things you can do:

• Take care of you chipped tooth: The first thing to do when you realize that you have a chipped tooth is to see a dentist. If you are unfortunately suffering from this problem on a weekend when a dentist near you isn't accessible, keep the jagged edge of the broken tooth covered with a sugarless chewing gum or paraffin. If you get hungry, opt for a liquid diet or soft solids that don't require chewing. 
• Treatment: Filling or bonding that is if you've chipped a visible tooth in your frontline, your dentist will use a tooth coloured composite resin for a 'bonding' procedure. If it is one of your inside teeth, your dentist may try a simple 'filling' to fix things up. Bonding is pretty much 'gluing' bits of your artificial teeth on. The dentist clears up the surface to place the adhesive and sticks the bonding material and then hardens it into shape with ultraviolet light. 
• Adding a crown or dental cap: This procedure is used when a larger piece of tooth chips off, it happens mainly due to decay. The dentist will chip off the edges from your broken teeth and cover it with a crown or cap to protect the tooth from further damage. The cap also acts as a cosmetic fixture not making anyone realize that it is different from your real teeth. 

Patients are generally given a choice on the material for the cap, which they can choose based on cost and cosmetics. A metal cap is the strongest, but can make you look like a villain from yesteryears, which has an evil glint in every smile. The other common options are porcelain fused to metal, all ceramic or all resin. This procedure will require more than one visit for x-rays, taking an impression of the tooth, trial for your crown and finally fixing it.