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chipped tooth

What Can I Do About A Chipped Tooth?

One moment you’re enjoying a snack of pretzels or candy, and the next you’re grimacing in pain — you’ve just gotten a chipped tooth. What do you do now?


Though your teeth are covered with a hard enamel, it can wear down over time. Crunching down on something hard can be the last straw that causes it to break down completely. Fortunately, there are a few ways your dentist can fix it, depending on the extent of the damage.

Caring For a Chipped Tooth

The first thing you should do when you notice a chipped tooth is to call your dentist right away. As uncomfortable as your injury is, you don’t want it to get worse with infection or further damage from eating. Waiting to see the dentist could potentially result in losing the tooth completely.

Since a chipped tooth qualifies as a dental emergency, you can probably be seen right away. But in the meantime, take an over-the-counter pain reliever to help with the discomfort. You can also rinse your mouth with salt water and apply a cold compress to stop any bleeding or swelling.

If the chip has jagged edges that are ripping at the inside of your mouth, cover it with sugarless gum or wax paraffin to avoid further injury. Avoid eating hard foods until you can get it fixed: stick to soft foods that don’t involve much chewing.

If you can recover any pieces of your chipped or broken tooth, save it to bring with you to your dental appointment.

How Your Dentist Will Fix Your Tooth

The method your dentist uses to fix a chipped tooth depends on the extent of the injury, as well as the age and health of your tooth.

Here are some of the most common fixes your dentist will likely use:

Dental Filling

Dental fillings are good for fixing smaller chips to your teeth. Another type of filling is called bonding, which uses a type of resin that matches the color of the tooth. These are relatively simple and fast procedures that don’t involve numbing agents. The resin material is applied to the tooth and hardened using ultraviolet light.

Caps And Crowns

This treatment may be used if a larger piece of the tooth breaks off, or if the remaining tooth has a good deal of damage or decay. Your dentist will file or grind down the remaining tooth and cover it with a cap or crown made from resin, porcelain, or ceramic material. All of these can be made to match your original tooth.

Caps and dental crowns typically require more than one appointment. The first appointment involves X-rays to examine the roots of the tooth. The cap is made by biting down on putty-like material, which must be shaped by a lab. This can take up to two or three weeks to create during which you will wear a temporary crown or cap cover. Once the permanent cap is finished, your dentist will permanently cement it in place. It will function and look exactly like your original tooth.

Dental Veneers

Veneers are shells of resin or porcelain that are made to look just like your teeth. It covers the front of your tooth like the way one might put false nails over their real ones (only veneers are meant to be permanent). The veneer is thicker where it replaces the broken part of the tooth.

Like caps and crowns, veneers will require more than one visit because the tooth impressions need to be shaped by a lab. Once the veneers are complete, the dentist will place it over your tooth.

Fix Your Chipped Tooth in South Florida

Eriks Dental Group is proud to serve the residents of Boynton Beach. In addition to fixing broken teeth, we offer a wide variety of dental services for all your dental needs. Call us today at 561-733-4004.