Chipped teeth can happen for many reasons, including falls, other accidents, and biting on hard foods or objects. For smaller chips, it might be tempting to skip treatment. But even the tiniest chip weakens your tooth structure and increases your risks of tooth decay and major fractures. Fortunately, treating a tooth chip is typically a straightforward process.
At Dr. Taylor’s Family Dental Center, Marvin Taylor, DDS, helps patients in Waterford, Michigan, repair and restore chipped teeth with veneer treatment and dental crowns — two techniques that rely on state-of-the-art materials for durable results. He repairs your chipped tooth so you can enjoy a beautiful smile and better oral health.
It’s easy to understand why repairing a chipped tooth is important for your smile aesthetics. After all, even a tiny chip can make a tooth look worn and uncared for, causing your whole smile to appear less attractive.
But chips also damage the integrity of your tooth, making it easier for decay-causing bacteria to reach the center part of the tooth where there are nerves and blood vessels. Once bacteria is in your tooth, you can quickly wind up with a cavity or deeper decay, requiring a root canal to prevent tooth loss.
Sometimes, a crack leads to damage without you knowing it. If that happens, you can suddenly develop a major tooth fracture requiring tooth extraction or wind up with an abscess or deep infection that can spread to your jawbone.
Repairing a chipped tooth promptly prevents these and other issues that can lead to severe pain, more extensive damage, and tooth loss. Plus, Dr. Taylor's repairs blend with your natural tooth material, restoring aesthetics and tooth integrity.
While very tiny chips might be restored with cosmetic bonding, using special tooth-colored resins, veneers, and crowns offers a more durable solution for chips of all sizes. Both veneers and crowns require two visits: one to prepare the tooth and one to place the permanent restoration.
Veneers are super-thin covers that adhere to the tooth surface. Each veneer is custom-shaped and tinted to fit comfortably and blend beautifully with the rest of your smile.
Dental crowns encircle the entire tooth, making them a good choice for larger chips or chips on teeth used for chewing. Like veneers, crowns are tinted and shaped for a comfortable fit, restoring tooth function while helping your smile look its best.
At your first visit, you also receive a temporary restoration to protect your tooth until the permanent veneer or crown gets applied.
Never ignore cracks and other types of tooth damage. Prompt treatment restores your smile, prevents further damage, and avoids more complex, costly treatments later.
If you have a chipped tooth, we can help. To schedule an evaluation, call 248-681-8100 or request an appointment online at Dr. Taylor’s Family Dental Center today.
