To be on the safe side and protect your teeth and your gums, you should always go to the dentist for your regular checkups and cleaning. If you catch it in time, your dentist will be able to help you treat the earlier stages of gum disease. You don t want to wait until it is too late, as the more advanced stages of gum disease can completely destroy your teeth and gums - and there will be little to nothing that you can do about it. These fractures can be nothing to worry about at times, yet painful with other cases. Providing the pulp hasn t been damaged, your dentist will be able to restore the full shape and function to the fractured tooth. In cases where pulp damage has occurred, the dentist may need to do a root canal or other type of serious surgery to repair the tooth. This type of fracture is almost always found below the gums, normally under the bone. If a root fracture is found near the crown of the tooth, it will normally prove to be fatal. Sometimes, you can save the tooth with a root canal, even though it is normally lost later on due to an abscess of the bone that surrounds the fracture. Although the dentist is the preferred way to go, you may have to wait on an appointment, or the toothache may occur on a weekend or a time when the dentist isn t available. Your best advice is to seek dental care ASAP, as the infection can always return at any given time. If you don t get problems fixed as soon as you can, they can spread and cause you more problems with your teeth. Porcelain is very common, and produced in lab where it will be matched to your teeth then bonded to the affected tooth. Porcelain fillings match the color of your teeth, and are resistant to any type of staining. The costs for porcelain fillings can be very expensive, some costing as much as gold fillings. The symptoms of an abscessed tooth are easy to see, as they include severe pain in the affected area, red or swollen gums, a bad taste in your mouth, swelling around the area or the jaw, and possibly a high fever. Pain is excruciating with an abscess, normally affecting the area in a bad way. No matter what you do, the pain seems to intensify.