Solutions for Chipped or Fractured Front Tooth
If you have ever had a fractured or chipped front tooth, you are probably familiar with the anxiety that it creates. It’s just one of those things that people start looking for solutions right away when it happens because it is directly connected to how you look and feel about yourself. But worry no more. It’s usually easily fixable!
Not to make you more nervous but depending on how the chip or fracture has occurred, there may be more than what meets the eye! If a chip is superficial, just on the crown of a tooth and within a certain size and allows for direct access, then usually it’s possible to restore it with a filling (composite bonding). That means that you can just go to your dentist and have a composite (white) filling and it usually can be fixed in a single short visit.
However, if the chip is more like a fracture, large portion of the tooth missing, and the remaining structure is not very strong, then usually it needs to be built up and then crowned/capped; sometimes can do a veneers as well to address the situation. This is also easy to fix (not as easy as a filling but still easy and straight forward enough). Depending on your dentist and if she has the equipment and technology to do a CEREC crown, you might be able to get this fixed in a single visit to your dentist.
If the chip or fracture has occurred because of trauma however, falling/slipping/blow to the face, even years ago, usually the nerve is affected, which could result in need for a root canal as well. In this case, your dentist needs to do a root canal first and the do a crown (or a CEREC).
Finally, if the fracture is too large and goes under the gum line, or the root is also fractured, or the tooth has become loose, then there are cases that the tooth is deemed unrestorable and needs to be taken out. If that is the case, then implant or bridge may be considered or even a temporary solution such as a flipper/partial denture. This is the most severe case in which you need to do an implant which will take some time to do and requires multiple visits to your dentist’s office.
Whatever the case maybe, it’s important that you see your dentist as soon as possible and fix it before the situation is escalated. Something that you might have been able to fix with a filling, can turn into a painful experience if you keep postponing your visit to your dentist.
Feel free to contact us in Soothing Dental if you have a fractured or chipped front tooth and are interested to know your options.