What You Need to Know About Chipped Teeth

A chipped tooth can happen when you are hit in the mouth, when you bite down on a hard substance, or when a tooth is decayed and breaks. When you chip a tooth, you need to seek attention from your dentist right away. If you have never chipped a tooth before, here are some things you should know.

Can Chipped Teeth Develop Further Complications?

If you do not feel initial pain or discomfort from a chipped tooth, you may not think you need to deal with it right away, especially if the tooth is not in the front portion of your mouth. Smaller chips do not cause as much damage at first but can develop complications. Small chips can also be sharp and cut your inner cheek.

Additionally, small chips weaken the tooth and can cause the tooth to break further. As chips develop into bigger breaks, you may develop more problems. Your tooth can begin to hurt and can become sensitive to heat and cold. If the tooth remains broken or breaks below the gumline, you can also develop painful infections.

Chips that are left untreated can easily decay. If you do not seek attention for the broken tooth, you might need a root canal or you could eventually lose the tooth.

How Is a Chipped Tooth Treated?

The dentist will treat the chipped tooth based on the level of breakage.

Small Chip

A smaller chip does not need significant intervention to repair. They may file the tooth and reshape it to match your other teeth. This sort of treatment is rather simple and does not typically require any sort of sedation or analgesic treatment since.

If a chip is small, but the dentist can't file it back into shape, they may repair the chip with a bonding material. Your dentist will adhere the bonding material to the tooth, allow it to cure, then shape the bonding material to match the rest of your teeth.

Medium-Sized Chip

For larger chips that bonding material can't repair, the dentist may opt to clean the area and apply a cap to protect the rest of the tooth and prevent decay and infection.

Large Chip

For more significant chips and breakages, you will likely need more invasive treatment. Breaks or chips that damage the pulp inside the tooth can be more painful and cause more damage. The pulp of a tooth contains nerves and connective tissue. If this damage is not repaired, the tooth will continue to decay.

This severe of a chip or break may require a root canal, crown, or total tooth extraction if the dentist is unable to safely restore the damaged tooth.

How Can You Avoid Chipping a Tooth?

You can avoid chipping a tooth in several ways, but the best way is often through good oral hygiene. When you take care of your teeth and see your dentist for regular checkups, your teeth will be stronger as you are less likely to develop decay that weakens your teeth.

You should also take care when eating hard foods. Avoid biting down on hard items such as hard candy or ice. If you tend to bite your nails or chew on foreign items as a way to reduce stress or as a habit, try to find other ways to satisfy this issue.

If you play sports in which physical contact is common, always wear protective mouth gear to avoid damaging your teeth.

Keep in mind that even if you take all precautions, you can still chip a tooth in other ways. When this happens, contact your dentist. If you have questions about chipped teeth or you have other dental needs, please contact Davis & Beyer Dental Health Professionals.