Teeth are stronger than bones, but they still can break. Even though teeth can exert a couple of hundred pounds of pressure for chewing, they occasionally chip. Some chips are small and hardly noticeable, while others can prevent you from smiling or cause severe pain. Luckily, several options exist to fix a chipped tooth depending on the damage and its location.
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Causes Of A Chipped Tooth
Anyone can chip a tooth. It can happen while eating, sleeping, or playing sports. Although enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, there are many reasons it can break.
Some of the most common causes for chipped teeth include:
· Tooth decay. If you have a cavity, the tooth’s enamel weakens and can chip and fracture more easily.
· Large fillings. Large fillings remove a lot of tooth structure, leaving a tooth weaker.
· Diet. Eating acidic foods erodes and diminishes the strength of enamel.
· Hard foods. Biting hard foods such as ice, hard candy, and popcorn hulls cause many chipped teeth.
· Sports. Not wearing a protective mouthguard while taking part in sports leaves teeth vulnerable to chips and fractures.
· Trauma. Automobile and bicycle accidents account for many chipped teeth each year.
· Teeth as tools. Using your teeth to open items is a destructive and costly habit.
· Bruxism. Clenching or grinding teeth while asleep or awake puts a tremendous amount of stress on teeth and jaws. This creates many problems, including chipped and damaged teeth.
How To Fix Chipped Teeth
If you experience pain after chipping a tooth, you should call Trident General Dentistry immediately. You can take over-the-counter pain medication to help alleviate the pain. If you have no pain, the tooth needs treatment as soon as possible to prevent problems such as shifting teeth or damaged soft tissue from sharp edges of the chipped tooth.
The treatments for a chipped tooth include:
· Odontoplasty. This is a simple and non-invasive treatment for minor chips that requires no dental anesthetic. Special instruments smooth and reshape the rough or sharp edges on the chipped enamel.
· Dental bonding. Dental bonding uses a composite material that combines ceramic and plastic to restore teeth to their original shape and appearance. Bonding is an extremely popular and widely used cosmetic dental procedure because it’s affordable, requires a single office visit, and provides excellent aesthetic results. The composite resin is applied as a soft putty-like material. After shaping the material to a natural appearance, a dental light cures it into a hard material that can function as a normal tooth.
· Dental veneers. Veneers can repair chipped front teeth with a more permanent and durable restoration than dental bonding. These thin porcelain shells are custom-made to fit over the front surfaces of teeth. Veneers offer a more exact color match and final appearance than bonding.
· Dental crowns. Severely cracked or damaged teeth may require a dental crown that covers the entire tooth. Trident General Dentistry can fabricate your crown from porcelain, metal, or a combination of both. These provide maximum protection from future chipping or cracking.
· Other treatments. Some cracked teeth may need a root canal treatment before restoring the damaged tooth. Some teeth may require extraction due to a severe fracture. Dental implants or dental bridges can replace missing teeth when this occurs.
Preventing Chipped Teeth
You can’t prevent all chipped teeth, but you can take steps to reduce your risk, such as:
· Eat a healthy diet. Eating a low sugar diet that includes less acidic foods helps keep your teeth strong and more resistant to chipping.
· Do not chew ice. The habit of chewing ice might mean you have an iron deficiency that needs evaluation. The combination of hardness and its coldness makes ice very damaging to teeth. Avoid ice to help maintain strong teeth.
· Only chew food. Use your teeth for chewing food and not fingernails and ink pens. These and other hard non-food objects damage and chip teeth.
· Wear a mouthguard. If you take part in sports, get a custom-made mouthguard to protect your teeth.
· Use a nightguard if you grind. If you clench or grind your teeth, wearing a nightguard can protect your teeth and jaw from damage.
· Oral hygiene. One of the most important things you can do is keep your teeth and gums healthy and strong with regular brushing, flossing, and dental checkups.
Schedule an Appointment
We hope you now know how to fix a chipped tooth! Remember, taking all the necessary precautions and taking excellent care of your teeth doesn’t protect against every kind of chipped tooth incident. If you chip a tooth, contact Trident General Dentistry as soon as possible to discuss how to restore your tooth to its natural function and appearance.