fractured tooth and beeswax

[linn]

I have a fractured tooth. It is a free standing fracture from the cuspid to the base on a bottom back molar. I have some wax bars from my hives-very nice wax refined a number of times. I shaved a little wax off and placed it between the main tooth and the free standing fracture and pressed firmly-instant relief.
I should also say that just because I did this does not mean that you should. I will see a dentist.

[linn]

This is a bad idea. Do not do this. The free standing fracture ended up breaking horizontally. At the time the bees' wax dental temporary fix seemed like a good short term solution. It is not.

[Ledge]

How did the beeswax make it any worse than doing nothing at all? If it gave a little relief before you were able to get to the dentist, isn't that a good thing?

[linn]

I believe there are two roots to a molar. I was thinking that maybe the dentist could put this tooth back together like some sort of enamel puzzle. Now I have broken this free standing tooth-like icicle. I applied pressure to the side of the fragment by pushing the fragment towards the main tooth. The fragment probably would have broken anyways. I believe the drug stores used to sell some sort of temporary tooth filling material which I think was wax and cloves. This was my logic. The roots are still good.

[linn]

I guess I was thinking the side ways pressure was the problem. The wax idea I thought had been used before. I just did not want other people breaking their teeth.

[linn]

Now, I remember where I read about wax fillings. I think President George Washington may have used wax fillings. I guess we know how that turned out. He ended up with wooden teeth. That explains why he was never smiling-at least in his portraits. I went back to using wax to fill the hole where the filling was. I will see the dentist very soon.

[RiodeLobo]

I am a dentist. We frequently recommend people place orthodontic wax over fractured teeth, as a way of keeping thermal sensitivity to a minimum until the fracture can be evaluated. If the fracture is a true vertical fracture that extends below the bone there is little that can reasonably be done except extract the tooth. (That is not to say that in some cases there are not options but the cost vs success ratio is usually not worth it.) A fracture that does not extend below the gums usually can be fixed with a crown. I hope you have had an appointment by now, but if not make it a priority, as an abscess is a real possibility.

[linn]

Thank-you for your reply. I made an appointment and I will see the dentist in 3 days on Tuesday. The cuspid fracture broke at the base I believe. The main tooth had a huge filling that came out after the fracture broke. I went back to using the beeswax from my hives. I keep a one ounce bar of wax and a little knife with me at all times. I cut off a piece and after softening it a bit (like wax gum) press it into the void. It works very well.

[RiodeLobo]

You may want to try ortho wax, available from the pharmacy, it may last longer.