You are riding your cycle, and with a little bump, you got derailed and collided on the nearby pavement. However, you quickly got up with barely any scratches, but something didn’t feel right. There is something hard in your mouth, and you quickly realize that it’s a broken part of your tooth. Upon sweeping your tongue on your teeth, you uncover the site of damage. Now, you have to deal with a common dental problem, a chipped tooth. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about chipped teeth.
Causes For Chipping:
Accidents like the one we described above land a devastating impact on your tooth, causing some portions of it to succumb. However, chipping doesn’t always have to result from something drastic. Chewing a tough candy can also cause chipping. Moreover, sports can also lead to chipping, especially those that land a significant impact on your teeth, like boxing. Therefore, it would be great to use a mouth guard to protect your teeth. Apart from these, habits like bruxism or teeth grinding can also lead to chipping.
Risk Factors:
Although all teeth are susceptible to chipping, some are more vulnerable than others. These habits and conditions put you at a higher risk:
- Cavities hollow the tooth structure and weaken the enamel. Hence, making it more prone to breakage.
- Eating or drinking acidic foods and drinks demineralizes the enamel leaving it weaker and prone to the wreckage.
- Diseases like acid reflux expose the teeth’ enamel to stomach acid, weakening the enamel.
- Habits like drinking excessive alcohol make your tooth vulnerable.
Self Care For Chipped Tooth:
Your first action after tooth chipping is to call a dentist and book an appointment. However, until the time comes, you could follow these tips to prevent further damage:
- Cover the ragged edge with a teabag, sugar-free gum, or dental wax to protect your tongue and cheeks from blemishes.
- Although pain occasionally occurs when something contacts the broken tooth. However, the pain can shoot up if the nerve endings are exposed. Buy some OTC painkillers to soothe the pain, like Ibuprofen.
- Ice the outside of your cheek if the broken tooth irritates the area.
- Avoid chewing using the damaged tooth.
Treatment Options:
There are several treatment options out there to help restore your perfect smile. Let’s go over them briefly and discuss how they can help you.
- Tooth planning or smoothing: If the chipping is not extensive, the dentist removes the raggedness by scaling the tooth and evening the surface.
- Bonding: A tooth-colored composite resin is cemented on the tooth and molded to complete the shape of the broken tooth.
- Veneers: They are like a sheath for your teeth made out of tooth-colored resin. The cover is thickened where the tooth piece is missing.
- Caps Or Crown: When the chipping is extensive, the dentist will go for a complete cap or crown replacement.
For complete and trustworthy treatment, you can always rely on Bayside Dental. Call us at 979-330-4113 to know how we can help out.