How easy is it to repair a chipped tooth or crown? It ultimately depends on how bad your chip is, but a good prosthodontist will be able to fix any and every kind of chip. Make a dental appointment as soon as possible, especially if you’re feeling any pain.
How and why teeth and crowns chip
Chipped teeth
Teeth are tough. The enamel that covers your teeth is the strongest, hardest material in your body. Enamel helps to protect the nerves and roots inside your teeth from decay and from pain.
Teeth are though, but not indestructible. These are some of the most likely explanations for a chip:
- wear and tear
- a fall or a blow
- biting into something hard
- teeth grinding
Also, if a tooth has any decay, it’s more prone to cracking or chipping.
Chipped crowns
Dental crowns are composed of metal, porcelain fused to metal, resin, ceramic, or porcelain. Crowns are not easy to chip, but it can happen the same way that teeth chip.
Can you repair a chipped tooth?
Yes, no matter the damage, there is always a solution. And often chips are very easy to fix. The treatment will be different for each situation and will depend on:
- how much of the tooth chipped
- the location of the tooth
- the condition of the tooth
If the chip is small, bonding is one of the easiest ways of repairing the tooth. Bonding is a process where your dentist spreads resin on the tooth and then shapes it to look like a natural tooth. The resin is going to match the color of your natural teeth. The process is painless and usually doesn’t even require numbing the tooth. Bonding is especially useful when the chipped tooth is a front tooth.
Fillings will be the best choice for repairing larger chips, the same process used to treat tooth decay. For chips that are too large to be repaired by bonding or filling, a dental crown is your best choice. A dental crown will protect the tooth from sensitivity and further decay.
Can you repair a chipped crown?
Porcelain crowns can chip like normal teeth. But if the chip is not too large, bonding can be used the same way to repair the crown. Dental crowns should last from five to fifteen years, or even longer. Porcelain crowns are more fragile than metal crowns and may need to be replaced more often.
Call for an appointment
It’s important to repair a chipped tooth or crown as soon as you can. This is because the longer it remains like it is, the more likely it will decay or become infected. Dr. Stone is a prosthodontist who has been practicing cosmetic dentistry for more than thirty years. This makes him an expert at tooth and crown repair. Our experienced staff and on-site laboratory can easily repair and restore broken and damaged teeth.
