Treatment Options For Chipped Teeth
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December 3, 2012Haven’t Seen A Dentist For A Long Time? Don’t Be Embarrassed
December 9, 2012Chipped teeth are a very common occurrence among children and adults. In fact, there are more ways than one on how it can
happen. The most common reason is some kind of trauma to the tooth. Most people will seek a dental professional if a large portion of the tooth has fractured or if they feel pain or discomfort and it’s an emergency; but a lot of people will ignore it if it’s a small chip, not realizing that it could be more damaging than it is actually showing.
Also in terms of cosmetics, broken or chipped teeth are not attractive. It makes you feel self-conscious about your smile. If you see that you start to smile less, or cover your mouth when you smile, then you need to see your dental provider.
Reconstruction typically, does not take long period of time to treat. A single visit to your dentist can easily resolve it. In some cases, your dentist may find an underlying problem and advise you on further procedures needed. That is why you should not take it lightly if there has been an injury to your dentitions, whether small or large.
Treatment options available
Reconstruction can be determined depending on how big the damage is. Your dentist will inform you about the best procedure to correct the problem. Here are the common solutions for teeth reconstruction:
- Dental bonding. This is the best and most common way to reconstruct a minor chipped tooth. A tooth-colored resin is added to
Dental Teeth Bonding
your teeth to regain its former shape.
- Enamel reshaping. This procedure is usually combined with dental bonding. A small portion of the enamel is taken off to smooth the small imperfections.
- Dental veneers. This is composed of a thin porcelain material. It is used when the chipped area is bigger and can’t be corrected by dental bonding. This is usually used on the front teeth, although sometimes it is used on bicuspids for aesthetic reasons. Veneers are bonded on the surface of the tooth and they restore the dentitions to even better than how your own teeth used to look like.
- Root canal. If you have pain, then most likely the chipped area is extended to the nerve and the nerve could be exposed. This situation calls for a root canal procedure. Sometimes you may not have any pain, but the nerve has still been affected by the injury and will need to have the root canal treatment done.
Tooth extraction. Sometimes there is no option but to extract. Most dentists do not like recommending teeth to be extracted especially if it is a permanent one. If the fracture is in a way that tooth is not savable, then there is no choice. But, do not worry. Modern dentistry has come a long way. You can do an implant or you can do a bridge to replace the missing tooth.
If you have chipped teeth or if you have any questions, you can call us at 323-771-7254. We will be happy to answer all your questions.
By Ladan Zinati
13 Comments
I have a chipped tooth on my front incisor. It happened just this year in June. It isn’t that big and it was only a small piece that chipped off from biting into a fork that my food was on. People say that they don’t notice it, but I can tell and I am a little self conscious about it. It isn’t as bad as the pictures above, but I have still thought about getting veneers anyway.
I had dental bonding on my front 2 teeth a few years ago for chipping and the dentist said that it should last about 10 years. If it lasts that long then I would say bonding is well worth it.
Yes, definitely.
I have a good buddy that has been in plenty of situations where he has chipped his teeth and now has numerous fake teeth. It’s nice, being his friend, to be able to know many of the treatment options available out there just in case this happens again and I happen to be with him. This was a very informative and well put together article.
Hi James. Great. I am glad you got the info you needed. Now let’s hope your friend doesn’t chip anymore teeth!
I previously chipped my right incisor and got dental bonding done. It occurred about 9 years ago and is still holding very nicely. I am very happy with the results of dental bonding, plus it was pain free!
Chipping teeth really does not look good. I have had one of my front teeth chipped while messing around. I was never really sure what I got done but with this article I now know I got dental veneers.
I previously chipped my right incisor and got dental bonding done. It occurred about 9 years ago and is still holding very nicely. I am very happy with the results of dental bonding, plus it was pain free!
I had trauma to my front upper incisor and it was replaced with a crown and had RCT. Not a huge fan of that method, but I understand why it’s done. The tooth was “dead” but I ended up still having pain years afterward. I had it extracted eventually and replaced with an implant.
Hi Kevin. I am sorry to hear that you had to have your tooth extracted, but unfortunately as much as all dentists would like to save our patient’s teeth, there are some circumstances that it is just not possible.
this dental is genius. i think his treatment is helpfull.
Thank you for the vote of confidence!
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