Maybe you fell. Or you were chewing hard candy. Perhaps you had a case of tooth decay that weakened the enamel and caused a chip in the surface of your tooth. Chipped teeth are common and can be caused in many ways. No matter the cause, your teeth and smile are repairable!
What to Do If You Chip a Tooth
After chipping your tooth, you can follow these steps to handle the situation.
- First things first, call us! It’s important to see us as soon as possible to avoid further damage.
- Rinse: Warm water is soothing and helps clean the area. It also can help prevent swelling!
- If there is some bleeding as a result of your chipped tooth, press gauze to the affected area.
- Depending on how quickly you can come see us at Farmington Dental & Orthodontics, you might benefit from dental cement. Temporary dental cement is available at most pharmacies and it will protect your remaining tooth until you can see the dentist.
How Is a Chipped Tooth Treated?
A chipped tooth can’t fix itself. Depending on the size of the chip, the extent of the damage, and how noticeable it is, Dr. Trogdon will chose the right repair for your smile.
- Small Chip – A very small chip in your tooth might only need some smoothing of the jagged edge and polishing. This kind of chip is minimal and doesn’t require any additional treatment.
- Medium Chip – The enamel, or surface of the tooth, is damaged in the cases of medium chips. A medium chip may require a filling or crown over the damage in order to protect the inner layers of the teeth from decay and irritation.
- Large Chip – This kind of chip exposes the tooth’s nerve and can make the tooth’s pulp vulnerable to infection. A root canal may be necessary to remove the tooth’s root. After the root canal, the tooth will be restored to its form and function with a filling or a dental crown.
- Front Tooth Chip – If you’ve chipped a front tooth, you might choose dental veneers to repair your smile. Veneers can fix a single cracked or chipped tooth, or multiple teeth to hide gaps, improve stained teeth, and change the size and/or shape of teeth.
However you chipped your tooth, it’s vital that you contact us as soon as you can. At Farmington Dental & Orthodontics, we understand that dental emergencies come up so we set aside a part of every day for urgent cases. The sooner you get to us, the better you can avoid further damage!