A chipped tooth can happen due to many reasons including eating incredibly hard foods or using your teeth to open bottle crowns or packages (which you should avoid by the way). Whatever the cause is, one thing is sure about having a chipped tooth: It affects our smile, causes pain, and self-consciousness.
Having your chipped tooth restored as soon as possible can prevent further complications. If you experience pain, placing ice on the affected area can help alleviate the pain and swelling caused by the incident. Understand that there is no universal solution to a chipped tooth. You need to book an appointment with the dentist to evaluate the extent of the damage and determine what restoration option would be good for your chipped tooth.
For small and simpler chips, your dentist will possibly recommend bonding. The procedure is easy and involves molding a composite material over the unaffected part of the tooth to correct the chip. Initially, the dentist will abrade the remaining enamel and form the composite into a closely similar extension.
Using a blue light, the dentist will proceed to put the composite in place, which will immediately solidify the material. If properly maintained, bonding has a durability of about ten years and is suitable for small, superficial chips.
If the crack is not small and liable to cause a more serious cosmetic condition, you may choose veneers instead. Veneers are made of porcelain and are placed on the frontal side of your teeth to give your teeth a natural appearance. You can choose to have a single veneer or multiple, but they can be costly in high numbers.
Veneers are durable and typically last up 10 to 20 year if properly maintained. They are the perfect solution if you have broken a bonding multiple times or you want to correct the shape and discoloration of a chipped tooth at the same time.
Crowns, similar to veneers, are made of porcelain and cover the tooth. The main difference between the two is that while veneers only cover the front of the tooth, crowns protect the entire the tooth. Crowns are the perfect choices when the crack resulted in the loss of a big chunk of the original tooth.
They can fix the shape of the tooth and restore your smile instantly. They also help stop further complications such as nerve pain and tooth decay.
If the crack occurred close to the surface of your gum, the American Dental Association recommends that you have the tooth extracted and substituted with a dental implant. By removing the tooth and giving the gap time to heal, the doctor will be able to install a metal post on the gum surface before placing the implant that has the same appearance as a real tooth. This aspect will help prevent infection or possible root canal in the future. This process takes time to heal, compared to other procedures.
With proper care and dental procedure, you should have your normal healthy smile back in no time. Contact us so we can help guide you in making the best decisions!
Request a dental appointment here: http://www.gatewaydental.org or call Gateway Dental Dr. William Swann DDS at (301) 485-7492 for an appointment in our Bowie dental office.
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