How to Get A Chipped Tooth Fixed By The Dentist

If you get a chipped tooth, it's important for you to know that the dentist has a few different ways of fixing it, depending on the specific nature of the damage. Read this article to learn the different ways a dentist might use to fix your chipped tooth.

Instructions

• 1

  Your dentist will probably want to X-ray the affected tooth (or teeth) to determine precisely how the tooth got chipped or damaged in the first place. (The way in which a tooth got chipped and the extent of the damage are two key determining factors in the dentist's decision about exactly how to fix it.)

• 2

  When a tooth has only been chipped slightly, and if the X-rays indicate that there is no significant root damage, one option that the dentist has is simply to file down the tooth using special dental filing instruments.

• 3

  If the chip in your tooth is more than superficial, filing may not be appropriate and the dentist may therefore opt to fix the chipped tooth in a different way. Specifically, the dentist may decide to affix a veneer to the affected tooth. The technique that the dentist uses to get the veneer to stay on the chipped tooth is called bonding.

• 4

  Sometimes neither of these options is appropriate. If the dentist determines after looking at your dental X-rays that neither filing nor bonding a veneer to the tooth would work, a crown might be the most suitable alternative. Think of a crown as a sort of dental "cap" that the dentist places over the damaged tooth in order to conceal the chipped area and safeguard the tooth from getting damaged further.

• 5

  If a chipped tooth is damaged beyond repair, your dentist may ultimately need to pull and replace the tooth. Please know that this extraction option is not very likely, but it is occasionally necessary. Your dentist will let you know as soon as possible if this course of treatment will be necessary in the case of your chipped tooth.