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1200 Village Creek Drive #102 Plano, TX 75093

Treatment For Chipped Teeth Plano, TX

You know the feeling: you’re crunching down on a piece of hard candy when you suddenly notice something much harder in your mouth and realize it’s a chunk of a broken tooth! What do you do? If you have a broken or chipped tooth, don’t panic. There are many things that Dr. Mark Sowell and Dr. Chen, Plano area dentists, can do to repair it if you see them right away. Otherwise, you risk further damaging your tooth.

The enamel that covers your teeth is the hardest, most mineralized tissue in the body, but it does have limits. The enamel cannot grow back once it is gone. So keep that in mind the next time you try using your teeth for anything other than chewing food. Fortunately, modern dentistry and our dentists are able to repair damaged tooth enamel using cosmetic and restorative dental treatments. We will have you smiling again in no time!

Solutions for Chipped Teeth in Plano, TX

A chipped tooth can be painful and can cause a range of symptoms. Common signs of a chipped tooth include pain when biting down, sharp edges on the tooth, and sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures. Other symptoms may include swelling in the gums around the damaged tooth, discoloration of the damaged area, and difficulty chewing or speaking. If you experience any of these symptoms, it is important to visit our dentists as soon as possible in order to prevent further damage to your teeth.

Chipped teeth repair in Plano Texas
We offer various solutions to repair a chipped tooth, many chipped teeth, and tooth cracks. Each situation is unique depending on esthetic demands and the number of supporting structures lost. Once you lose a tooth, you typically lose 30% of the supporting bone. This requires additional considerations to achieve an ideal esthetic result.

Treating a broken or chipped tooth depends on how severe the damage is. If a small piece has broken off, we can usually complete a chipped tooth repair within one office visit. A badly damaged or severely broken tooth may require longer treatment or a more costly procedure. The following are Dr. Sowell’s and Dr. Chen’s treatments for chipped teeth or cracked teeth.

Dental Fillings

Dr. Sowell and Dr. Chen can use dental fillings to repair a chipped tooth. Color-matched filling material blends perfectly with the chipped tooth. First, they will numb the area with an anesthetic, then use a drill to remove any decay or fragments from the chipped area. Next, they will fill the area with a composite resin material to match the color of the tooth and use a UV light to harden the resin filling.

They will finish the process by shaving and polishing the filling so that it looks like nothing happened to your tooth. To learn about getting dental fillings at our dental office, see Dental fillings.

Tooth Bonding

Dental bonding provides a layer of protection to the repaired tooth and offers a more esthetic result. Dental bonding is a cosmetic procedure that Dr. Sowell and Dr. Chen can use to fix chipped teeth and many more cosmetic issues. Bonding is a resin-like material that a dentist molds to the shape of the individual tooth. We harden it using a special UV light, then trim and polish it to match the surrounding teeth.

Dr. Sowell and Dr. Chen can also use dental bonding to close gaps between teeth and improve the look of stained teeth. Bonding provides a long-lasting solution that can last as long as 10 years with proper dental care and regular visits to the dentist. To learn more about our dental bonding service, see Cosmetic tooth bonding.

Porcelain Dental Crowns

Porcelain dental crowns can completely cover a severely chipped tooth. They are tooth-shaped caps that consist of porcelain ceramic material that Dr. Chen and Dr. Sowell can place over an existing tooth to protect it. Porcelain crowns are more aesthetically pleasing than metal crowns because we can color-match them to your existing teeth, helping them blend in better.

Porcelain is also stronger, longer lasting, and more resistant to breakage compared to metal crowns, which can wear down over time. Additionally, porcelain crowns better protect against decay, since the material does not corrode or react like metal. To learn about our dental crown process, see Dental Crowns.

Porcelain Dental Veneers

Porcelain dental veneers are thin shells of porcelain that fit over the front surface of your teeth to improve the aesthetics of your smile. We can fix a discolored, chipped, crooked, gapped, or misaligned tooth using a porcelain veneer. Porcelain veneers are also stain-resistant and resistant to any further discoloration. To learn more about our dental veneers, see Porcelain dental veneers.

Root Canal

A root canal is a dental procedure that we can provide to remove infected or injured tooth pulp from your dying tooth. The pulp is the tissue inside the tooth containing nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. During a root canal, our dentist carefully removes the pulp and then fills the space where it was using a rubber-like material we call gutta-percha. This helps to protect the tooth from infection and further injury.

Chipped Teeth FAQs

Will a chipped tooth get worse?

A chipped tooth causes loss of bone structure and potentially creates new chips in other teeth. If a chipped tooth is severe enough, it may affect nerve function inside a tooth.

What happens if you don’t fix a chipped tooth?

If you do not fix a chipped tooth, it can cause excessive damage to the tooth. Chips in teeth damage the dental pulp, which may cause damage to blood vessels, nerves, and tissue. It can also cause infection.

Will a small chipped tooth smooth out?

Small chips in teeth may smooth out over time. Dentists can also use a bond to add to the tooth to disguise any chipping.

Schedule a Dental Exam and Chipped Tooth Consultation Today

You’ll discover many solutions for a chipped or cracked tooth at Sensational Smiles. Call now for a complimentary consultation at (972) 382-6855 or request an appointment online.

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