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Posts for tag: chipped tooth

By Sandusky and Lexington Dental Care
May 17, 2018
Category: Dental Procedures
26MillionFansLikeJustinBiebersChippedTooth

Is a chipped tooth big news? It is if you’re Justin Bieber. When the pop singer recently posted a picture from the dental office to his instagram account, it got over 2.6 million “likes.” The snapshot shows him reclining in the chair, making peace signs with his hands as he opens wide; meanwhile, his dentist is busy working on his smile. The caption reads: “I chipped my tooth.”

Bieber may have a few more social media followers than the average person, but his dental problem is not unique. Sports injuries, mishaps at home, playground accidents and auto collisions are among the more common causes of dental trauma.

Some dental problems need to be treated as soon as possible, while others can wait a few days. Do you know which is which? Here are some basic guidelines:

A tooth that’s knocked out needs attention right away. First, try and locate the missing tooth and gently clean it with water — but avoid holding the tooth’s roots. Next, grasp the crown of the tooth and place it back in the socket facing the correct way. If that isn’t possible, place it between the cheek and gum, in a plastic bag with the patient’s saliva or a special tooth preservative, or in a glass of cold milk. Then rush to the dental office or emergency room right away. For the best chance of saving the tooth, it should be treated within five minutes.

If a tooth is loosened or displaced (pushed sideways, deeper into or out of its socket), it’s best to seek dental treatment within 6 hours. A complete examination will be needed to find out exactly what’s wrong and how best to treat it. Loosened or displaced teeth may be splinted to give them stability while they heal. In some situations, a root canal may be necessary to save the tooth.

Broken or fractured (cracked) teeth should receive treatment within 12 hours. If the injury extends into the tooth’s inner pulp tissue, root canal treatment will be needed. Depending on the severity of the injury, the tooth may need a crown (cap) to restore its function and appearance. If pieces of the tooth have been recovered, bring them with you to the office.

Chipped teeth are among the most common dental injuries, and can generally be restored successfully. Minor chips or rough edges can be polished off with a dental instrument. Teeth with slightly larger chips can often be restored via cosmetic bonding with tooth-colored resins. When more of the tooth structure is missing, the best solution may be porcelain veneers or crowns. These procedures can generally be accomplished at a scheduled office visit. However, if the tooth is painful, sensitive to heat or cold or producing other symptoms, don’t wait for an appointment — seek help right away.

Justin Bieber earned lots of “likes” by sharing a picture from the dental office. But maybe the take-home from his post is this: If you have a dental injury, be sure to get treatment when it’s needed. The ability to restore a damaged smile is one of the best things about modern dentistry.

If you have questions about dental injury, please contact our office or schedule a consultation. You can read more in the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Repairing Chipped Teeth” and “Porcelain Crowns & Veneers.”

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By Sandusky and Lexington Dental Care
January 29, 2018
Category: Oral Health
FifthHarmonysCamilaCabelloChipsaToothbutConcertStillWorthIt

Everyone loves a concert where there's plenty of audience participation… until it starts to get out of hand. Recently, the platinum-selling band Fifth Harmony was playing to a packed house in Atlanta when things went awry for vocalist Camila Cabello. Fans were batting around a big plastic ball, and one unfortunate swing sent the ball hurtling toward the stage — and directly into Cabello's face. Pushing the microphone into her mouth, it left the “Worth It” singer with a chipped front tooth.

Ouch! Cabello finished the show nevertheless, and didn't seem too upset. “Atlanta… u wild… love u,” she tweeted later that night. “Gotta get it fixed now tho lol.” Fortunately, dentistry offers a number of ways to make that chipped tooth look as good as new.

A small chip at the edge of the tooth can sometimes be polished with dental instruments to remove the sharp edges. If it's a little bigger, a procedure called dental bonding may be recommended. Here, the missing part is filled in with a mixture of plastic resin and glass fillers, which are then cured (hardened) with a special light. The tooth-colored bonding material provides a tough, lifelike restoration that's hard to tell apart from your natural teeth. While bonding can be performed in just one office visit, the material can stain over time and may eventually need to be replaced.

Porcelain veneers are a more long-lasting solution. These wafer-thin coverings go over the entire front surface of the tooth, and can resolve a number of defects — including chips, discoloration, and even minor size or spacing irregularities. You can get a single veneer or have your whole smile redone, in shades ranging from a pearly luster to an ultra-bright white; that's why veneers are a favorite of Hollywood stars. Getting veneers is a procedure that takes several office visits, but the beautiful results can last for many years.

If a chip or crack extends into the inner part of a tooth, you'll probably need a crown (or cap) to restore the tooth's function and appearance. As long as the roots are healthy, the entire part of the tooth above the gum line can be replaced with a natural-looking restoration. You may also need a root canal to remove the damaged pulp material and prevent infection if the fracture went too far. While small chips or cracks aren't usually an emergency (unless accompanied by pain), damage to the tooth's pulp requires prompt attention.

If you have questions about smile restoration, please contact us and schedule an appointment. You can read more in the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Porcelain Veneers: Strength & Beauty As Never Before” and “Porcelain Crowns & Veneers.”

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By Sandusky and Lexington Dental Care
August 10, 2017
Category: Oral Health
JamieFoxxChipsaTooth-ThisTimebyAccident

Some people are lucky — they never seem to have a mishap, dental or otherwise. But for the rest of us, accidents just happen sometimes. Take actor Jamie Foxx, for example. A few years ago, he actually had a dentist intentionally chip one of his teeth so he could portray a homeless man more realistically. But recently, he got a chipped tooth in the more conventional way… well, conventional in Hollywood, anyway. It happened while he was shooting the movie Sleepless with co-star Michelle Monaghan.

“Yeah, we were doing a scene and somehow the action cue got thrown off or I wasn't looking,” he told an interviewer. “But boom! She comes down the pike. And I could tell because all this right here [my teeth] are fake. So as soon as that hit, I could taste the little chalkiness, but we kept rolling.” Ouch! So what's the best way to repair a chipped tooth? The answer it: it all depends…

For natural teeth that have only a small chip or minor crack, cosmetic bonding is a quick and relatively easy solution. In this procedure, a tooth-colored composite resin, made of a plastic matrix with inorganic glass fillers, is applied directly to the tooth's surface and then hardened or “cured” by a special light. Bonding offers a good color match, but isn't recommended if a large portion of the tooth structure is missing. It's also less permanent than other types of restoration, but may last up to 10 years.

When more of the tooth is missing, a crown or dental veneer may be a better answer. Veneers are super strong, wafer-thin coverings that are placed over the entire front surface of the tooth. They are made in a lab from a model of your teeth, and applied in a separate procedure that may involve removal of some natural tooth material. They can cover moderate chips or cracks, and even correct problems with tooth color or spacing.

A crown is the next step up: It's a replacement for the entire visible portion of the tooth, and may be needed when there's extensive damage. Like veneers, crowns (or caps) are made from models of your bite, and require more than one office visit to place; sometimes a root canal may also be needed to save the natural tooth. However, crowns are strong, natural looking, and can last many years.

But what about teeth like Jamie's, which have already been restored? That's a little more complicated than repairing a natural tooth. If the chip is small, it may be possible to smooth it off with standard dental tools. Sometimes, bonding material can be applied, but it may not bond as well with a restoration as it will with a natural tooth; plus, the repaired restoration may not last as long as it should. That's why, in many cases, we will advise that the entire restoration be replaced — it's often the most predictable and long-lasting solution.

Oh, and one more piece of advice: Get a custom-made mouthguard — and use it! This relatively inexpensive device, made in our office from a model of your own teeth, can save you from a serious mishap… whether you're doing Hollywood action scenes, playing sports or just riding a bike. It's the best way to protect your smile from whatever's coming at it!

If you have questions about repairing chipped teeth, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Artistic Repair of Chipped Teeth With Composite Resin” and “Porcelain Veneers.”

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By Sandusky and Lexington Dental Care
July 08, 2013
Category: Dental Procedures
Tags: bonding   chipped tooth  
BondingAGoodChoiceforRepairingDamagedorChippedTeethinYoungsters

Imagine this: your active, adventurous child — or adolescent — loves high-risk contact sports like hockey or football, and while playing breaks a front tooth. After an emergency trip to our office, we recommend bonding as a good choice for this repair.

“What is bonding?” you ask. Here's what you need to know. In a bonding procedure, a composite resin restoration material is attached (bonded) to the broken tooth, and it looks as good as new.

Composite resin restorations are tooth-colored filling materials composed of a special plastic-based matrix for strength, with glass filler for aesthetics and translucence. The combination looks just like a natural tooth. The composite resin material is physically bonded to the remaining healthy tooth structure. First the natural tooth enamel or dentin must be etched so that the composite resin can attach and actually join to the tooth. In the end it will function as one and look exactly like a tooth.

Composites can be placed directly on the teeth in our office, quite easily, and they are relatively inexpensive. They look natural and can be matched to your child's natural tooth. They require little to no tooth reduction. Bonded composite resin restorations are the best choice for children and teenagers because their teeth and jaws are still growing and developing. What's more, they are still active in their sports and could need further restorations.

Composite resin restorations may need to be replaced with more permanent restorations after your child is fully grown. The bonded resin restorations may wear over time, and may stain and dull somewhat with age. When your child has completed growth, more permanent restorations such as porcelain veneers or crowns may be necessary.

By the way, a custom-made mouthguard might have prevented injury in the first place and certainly should be considered in the future.

If your child has chipped or damaged a tooth, contact us today to schedule an appointment or to discuss your questions about bonding and a protective mouthguard. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Repairing Chipped Teeth.”

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By Sandusky and Lexington Dental Care
November 19, 2012
Category: Oral Health
RepairingChippedTeeth

Your son just crashed his skateboard and cracked a tooth, or maybe your daughter fell off the monkey bars at school and now has a chipped front tooth. For children, and some adults, repairing chipped or damaged teeth with tooth-colored restorative materials directly bonded to the teeth may be the perfect solution to restore their smiles.

What is Involved: Composite bonding is a technique that has been developed to correct chipped teeth and other minor dental imperfections. It may also be used to correct mild crookedness or gaps between teeth. The procedure requires the application of a tooth-colored composite resin material to the surfaces of teeth, which is then sculpted to the desired shape. It can be performed in a single visit for one or multiple teeth. The procedure usually takes between one and two hours, and the end result is a beautiful, natural-looking smile.

Advantages for Kids and Adults: Composite resin bonding is a good choice for kids and teens since their jaws are still growing and developing, and they may still be engaged in high-risk activities. After your child's teeth and jaws are fully developed, we can discuss options for more permanent restorations such as porcelain veneers or crowns. These require removal of more tooth structure, which could compromise the long-term health of your child's teeth if done too soon. Composite resin restorations, which bond straight to the teeth and require little to no tooth preparation or drilling are therefore a good option for fixing chipped teeth, and they're less expensive than choosing veneers.

Disadvantages: The longevity of composite resin restorations is related to how well you maintain your teeth. Many people can go for ten or fifteen years before they need to have the bonded resins repaired or replaced. Others will tend to stain and wear after only one or two years and will need some touch-up work.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss any questions you may have regarding dental bonding. Read more about this topic in the Dear Doctor magazine article “Repairing Chipped Teeth.”

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