Your tooth enamel is composed of densely packed microscopic mineral crystals. This gives your teeth the strength to bite, chew and grind hard foods. As hard as they are, there are some things, like grinding your teeth, nibbling on pens and pencils, or a blow to the face, that can carry enough unnatural force to chip the tooth enamel.
Most chips are relatively shallow and don’t cause pain. This might tempt you to ignore the chip, especially if it isn’t in your smile. Here at Steven A. Beuligmann, DDS Inc, your dentist warns against this line of thinking. Residual food particles and plaque could easily become trapped in the chipped area, encouraging a new area of tooth decay to develop.
The severity of the chip and the tooth’s appearance in your smile will largely influence the method your dentist, Dr. Steven A. Beuligmann, recommends for repairing it.
Sometimes a minor chip can be repaired with a basic dental filling or cosmetic bonding procedure. If one or more of the teeth in your smile have chips, your dentist might recommend having porcelain dental veneers installed over the face of each tooth.
If a chip is significant or if the tooth is prevalent 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 back teeth often call for a gold or base metal crown.
In extreme cases, a chipped tooth might also 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 dental crown.
If you have a chipped tooth, you should call Steven A. Beuligmann, DDS Inc at 760.729.5964 to explore your treatment and repair options in Carlsbad, California.