Your teeth have been designed to be hard enough to bite, chew and grind most normal foods. Unfortunately, there are some instances that can chip one or more teeth. This could be as mundane as chewing on ice, grinding your teeth or using your teeth as tools. Even if the chip doesn’t cause you any pain, you should still have it repaired before tooth decay has a chance to develop in the compromised enamel.
The severity of the chip and the tooth’s appearance in your smile will largely influence the treatment your dentist, Dr. Jeff DeMercy, recommends.
Sometimes a minor chip can be repaired with a basic filling or cosmetic bonding procedure. If one or more of the teeth in your smile have chips, we might recommend having porcelain dental veneers installed over the face of each tooth.
If a chip is significant, or if the tooth is visible in your smile, your dentist might recommend completely replacing the tooth enamel with a dental crown. A tooth in your smile will likely need a porcelain crown while a back tooth will likely need a gold or base metal crown.
In extreme cases, a chipped tooth might result in damage to the interior pulp. If this is the case, your dentist might need to perform a root canal to restore the damaged structures before mounting a crown.
If you have a chipped tooth in Roswell, Georgia, you should call DeMercy Dental at 770-641-8010 to explore your treatment and repair options.