Is a pale brown-broken tooth indicative of infection?

Question

Hello doctor,

I broke a big part of my tooth, and I cannot get to the dentist as I have no money and no medical insurance. Now it smells, and looks pale brown color. I am scared, is it infected?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Breaking of a part of the tooth is termed as tooth fracture. There are a number of types of tooth fractures. A few of them are symptomatic and cause pain. These require immediate attention. A few other types do not cause pain immediately. But they might show color changes, tooth mobility, swelling of gums, pus collection, abscess, bad breath (halitosis), and tooth migration later in life. In your case, the tooth would have become non-vital (dead) and hence the pale brown color change. The causes of bad breath are either abscess formation associated with pus collection or food lodgment in the fractured tooth.

Kindly attach intraoral photos and give a detailed history of the trauma to the tooth for further follow-up. Tooth at this stage can be saved. If delayed you may lose the tooth and will have to replace it with an artificial tooth.