What Happens if You Chip a Tooth?

Chipping a tooth will result in much more than an aesthetic issue to deal with.  Chipped teeth make life difficult beyond how you look. By obtaining the proper care, you will not have to worry about whether you can eat, drink and talk with confidence.

Here is a look at what happens when you chip a tooth.

How to Proceed After You Chip a Tooth

The best approach to treating a chipped tooth hinges on the tooth's location as well as the type of injury and the extent of the injury. The dentist will likely be able to repair your chipped tooth with dental bonding or a crown. Root canal treatment might be necessary if the nerve within the tooth pulp faces exposure.

What matters most is you obtain an immediate evaluation. Timely professional care in the appropriate manner will help preserve the tooth. Proper treatment also increases the chance of being able to re-attach the piece of tooth.

Small and Moderate Chips

Minor chips along the edges of the teeth are often remedied with a polishing and the use of dental instruments to eliminate the rough edges.  Such chips typically occur by the biting surfaces of the teeth in the front of the mouth. In most cases, dental bonding will suffice for these diminutive chips.

The dentist restores the missing structure with the application of a specialized material to the tooth surface.  This material consists of glass fillers and plastic resin. Dentists can complete such bonding in a single visit.

Large Chips

A large chip is a bit more challenging yet it can be corrected.  Try to recover the lost portion of the tooth. If possible save it and bring it with you to the dentist's office.  The dentist might be able to reattach the chipped portion of the tooth with bonding. If a section of the tooth cusp breaks and the roots are intact, restoration might be possible with a filling that substitutes for a portion of the tooth's chewing surface.  In other cases, a full crown will be necessary.

If the damage moves on out to the pulp portion of the tooth that contains the nerves, connective tissue and blood vessels, it will cause pain and mandate immediate attention.  Such a large chip usually requires a root canal to remove the damaged section of the pulp before performing a restoration with the dental crown.

A root canal involves the formation of a small hole in the tooth to access the pulp. The dentist will then remove the diseased/dead tissue.  The dentist will disinfect the space within the tooth and fill it with a biocompatible material prior to the closing of the hole. The dental cap serves to restore the tooth to complete functionality.

What to do Immediately After You Chip a Tooth

The first thing to do after chipping a tooth is to find the chipped portion and preserve it in a bag or glass of milk/water.  Rinse your mouth with some water. Apply pressure to the site of injury with gauze to minimize the bleeding. Cover the chipped tooth with a temporary dental filling material.

The next step is to visit Eastside Dental.

Request a dental appointment here: https://www.esdmke.com or call Eastside Dental at (414) 888-4000 for an appointment in our Milwaukee dental office.