How Your Cosmetic Dentist Can Restore A Broken Or Chipped Tooth

By Arthur Kezian

You might be eating something and suddenly feel a hard piece of material between your bite. You panic at the thought that it may be a piece of your tooth. If that’s the case, don’t worry. Your dentist is only a call away and can restore almost any dental situation revolving around a broken or chipped tooth.

Maybe you’re enjoying a nice bike ride through your town and you take a fall, breaking your front teeth. This could be a very scary situation because you don’t know what to expect, but remember, your dentist is only a call away and can restore your smile!

Options for Restoring a Broken or Chipped Tooth

Now, you may be wondering what options there are for restoring broken or chipped teeth. We’ve put together a few pointers you can read to know what to expect with cosmetic dentistry and a broken or chipped tooth.

For cases where the tooth has minimal chipping, the procedure to help restore it would be dental bonding. This is basically the same procedure as a filling that you might have had on your molars. Your dentist can match the dental bonding to the shade of your other teeth and make it look very natural. A bonding cosmetically enhances your smile and restores the chip, but you must keep in mind that it is fragile. This means you shouldn’t be biting onto hard or crunchy foods directly with the area that has been restored.

Dental veneers are for cases where the chipping is slightly larger, or when you and your dentist decide you want a more cohesive and permanent restoration rather than a quick one.Dental veneers are more invasive than bondings, and require some drilling of your natural tooth. Due to this, it is a procedure you must be ready for. The outcome can give you a more beautiful result. Everything is done precisely with molds of your teeth and sent to a laboratory. Your veneers are made with porcelain, again matching the exact shade of your teeth, and are sent back to your dentist for he or she to apply them. They are basically thin shells made of porcelain that cap the front portion of your teeth and can completely restore your chipped tooth.

For cases where the tooth is actually broken, crowns would be your best bet. As far as the procedure goes, they are very similar to dental veneers. The main difference is that the crown covers your entire tooth rather than just the front surface. This way, your tooth is given more support since the break is a larger portion. For some specific cases where the break leaves the nerves of your tooth exposed, a root canal may have to be completed prior to putting the crown on.

Whatever the case may be – bondings, veneers, or crowns – your dentist will have a consultation with you first. Then, both you and your dentist can decide which options is better suited for your case. After all, your dentist just wants to make sure that you are able to smile again!

For more information on different options for chipped or broken teeth, please feel free to call our office. Our staff will be more than delighted to help with any of your questions or concerns. You can reach us by calling (323) 467-2777. Also, you can check our website for more articles about cosmetic dentistry.

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