What if a tooth is damaged?
If a tooth has decay or damage, you may need a filling, and our tooth coloured fillings information covers tooth-coloured options and what to ask. If your gums bleed when you brush, or look red, swollen or receded, read our gum disease treatment information and ask a dentist to check them.
A badly damaged or infected tooth may need root canal treatment, which removes infected or damaged pulp (the soft tissue with nerves and blood vessels inside the tooth), or the dentist may talk with you about removing the tooth instead. Our root canal treatment information explains that choice, and our wisdom teeth removal information explains why wisdom teeth are sometimes taken out, such as repeated gum infection or decay.




