How to fix a chipped tooth
There are different cosmetic treatment options available depending on the severity of the chip. Chipped tooth repair options include:
Filling - only typically used on your side or back teeth, as opposed to your front teeth as it needs a hollow area to attach to.
Bonding - this can be used on a chipped front tooth or any visible teeth. The tooth is first lightly roughened using a special gel or liquid to prepare it. Then, a dental chemical adhesive is put on the tooth and a resin material applied. The bonding material is then shaped and set using a special UV light.
Dental crown - a 'cap’ shaped like a tooth is placed over the cracked tooth (more so with a chipped molar) to cover it to improve its appearance. This will have to be done multiple times if you have lots of chipped teeth. Temporary crowns are made at your local dentist whereas permanent crowns are made in a dental lab first, before being applied by your dentist.
With this in mind, it may take several appointments with your oral health professional to ensure that the procedure is complete. This can become a lengthy and costly affair, possibly setting you back thousands.
Dental veneers - Dental veneers are tooth shells made of composite material and sit over the original tooth. In order to position the dental veneer onto the tooth, the tooth must be sanded down into a stump that will give the veneer an easy and smooth position onto the tooth's surface. To ensure that the veneer follows your natural gum line, the dentist will need to shape the veneer before being able to put it onto the tooth.
Root Canal Therapy - if the tooth is chipped to the extreme where the tooth's pulp is revealed (center of the tooth containing sensitive nerves and blood vessels). With the objective of saving the tooth from infection, the tooth's root canal will be the pulp removed, cleaned out and sealed off to ensure that it is no longer susceptible to infection.
