How To Repair A Chipped Front Tooth
Typically, a chipped tooth is a result of blunt force trauma to the mouth or a result of biting into something too hard. Some of our Mesa, AZ patients who are more prone to chipping enamel are those who regularly grind or clench their teeth.
When you chip a tooth, the size of the chip will determine what’s the best treatment for you at our Mesa dentist office. We could be talking something tiny like a sliver that’s super easy to fix, or if you’re missing a larger portion of your tooth, then you may require a more involved procedure.
Treatment Options for a Chipped Tooth
The treatment options for your chipped tooth may be one of the following:
Small Chipped Tooth Treatments
A small, superficial chip is one that you can barely see. In fact, you may not be visible at all, but you can definitely feel the roughness of the missing area with your tongue.
Fixing these size chips is super easy. Our Mesa dentist can do it for you in a matter of seconds and without any anesthesia. To repair a small chip, Dr. Huynh will do a procedure called enamel plasty, which means we simply smooth out the area with a small buffing tool. Doing this procedure is safe and doesn’t damage your tooth at all, because it doesn’t go past the enamel (outermost surface of your tooth).
The amount of shaping needed is usually very little. When you’re having it done, it may seem to you like we’re doing a lot to your tooth, but the file that we use is very fine and only contours a tiny bit at a time. To make sure that your smile still looks uniform, we may occasionally have to shape the neighboring teeth as well. After this procedure is over, you won’t be able to tell the chip was ever there, and your smile will still look proportionate!
Medium Chipped Tooth Repair Options
If the size of your chip is considered more than a sliver but there is still at least half of your tooth intact, then you’re looking at a medium-sized chip. To treat you, Dr. Huynh will perform a procedure called “bonding,” which is basically the same as a white filling.
To begin with, you may or may not need local anesthesia. If you have a preference as far as numbing goes, then let our Mesa dentist, because we might be able to give you a couple of options. After contouring the tooth as needed, Dr. Huynh will place some cleaning solutions on the surface and other medications to help the bonding stick better. Then comes the part where we shape the tooth-colored composite filling material over the chipped area. The pliable substance allows us to form and reconstruct your tooth. Once Dr. Huynh is satisfied with its appearance, we use a special curing light that hardens the material and sticks it to your tooth permanently.
However, the bonding needed to repair medium-sized chips can be difficult to keep in place. The location and size of the restoration can make it vulnerable, meaning it may detach and fall off from time to time if too much pressure is applied. Regular chewing or certain ways that your teeth hit together can be the cause of failed bonding. We understand that this is inconvenient for you because every time your bonding comes off you need to return to the Dr. Huynh to have your tooth repaired again. Therefore, if failed attempts keep occurring, then we may recommend that we treat it like a large chip and place a dental crown instead.
Treating A Large Tooth Break
For medium-sized repairs that won’t stay in place or large chips that have compromised your tooth by more than 50%, then you’ll need to have a procedure known as a dental crown. A crown is a hard, protective cap that fits over your tooth. This restoration is made from a very durable material and can last for many years. Crowns are custom made and close attention is paid to the size, shape, and shade of your natural teeth in an effort to replicate these characteristics as much as possible.
Chipped Tooth Repairs in Mesa, AZ
If you have a chipped tooth and are looking for the best dentist in Mesa to fix it in a way that it’ll look like it never happened, then come see Dr. Vinh Huynh, DMD of Eastport Dental! He has the cosmetic dentistry skills you want to give you your smile back. Call today!
