Aesthetically Pleasing Treatment Options for Chipped Teeth
One moment you are happily living your life, flashing your smile wherever you go. Before you know what happened, that happy smile is affected by a chipped tooth. Chipped teeth can occur to virtually anyone at any time, whether due to injury, an undiagnosed dental problem, or some other issue. Fortunately, restorative dentistry offers numerous outstanding options for returning a chipped tooth to its former structural and aesthetic glory. And Dr. Lauren J. Shanard is pleased to offer the full range of these treatment options for chipped teeth at her Williston, VT aesthetic and restorative dentistry practice, Contemporary Dental Arts, P.C.
If you have one or more chipped teeth, Dr. Shanard can provide you with a customized treatment plan to restore form, function and health to the affected teeth. You will emerge from treatment with a healthy mouth and an attractive smile. Please contact Contemporary Dental Arts, P.C. today to schedule your initial consultation with aesthetic dentist Lauren J. Shanard.
HOW DOES DR. SHANARD TREAT CHIPPED TEETH?
Before Dr. Shanard can decide upon a treatment for your chipped tooth or teeth, she must first evaluate your mouth and determine the extent of damage. The right treatment will depend on several factors, including the cause of the chip, the size of the chip, and the condition of the remaining tooth structure. Other factors include the location of the damaged tooth in your mouth and your personal preferences.
The treatments available for treating chipped teeth at Contemporary Dental Arts include:
- Tooth-colored dental fillings: Silver amalgam fillings were used for decades to repair chipped teeth. While effective, these fillings were less than aesthetically pleasing. However, modern dental fillings are made of a tooth-colored composite resin material. These fillings are as strong and resilient as their silver amalgam counterparts, but they look much more natural and do not contain any mercury.
- Inlays and onlays: For chips that are too large to support tooth-colored fillings, custom-crafted porcelain restorations called inlays and onlays may be used to restore the teeth instead. Inlays are used to replace chips within the cusps of a tooth, while onlays replace chips that extend to one or more of the cusps.
- Dental crowns: For relatively large chips, it may be necessary to use a dental crown to cover the entire visible surface area of the tooth. Dr. Shanard crafts each dental crown to look exactly like a natural tooth. When placed over a damaged tooth, a dental crown reinforces it and protects it from further harm.
- Porcelain veneers: If one or more of your front teeth are cracked, you may benefit from porcelain veneers. Porcelain veneers are bonded to the front surfaces of the teeth. Because porcelain shares light-reflecting properties with enamel, it is the most natural-looking of all dental restoration materials.
- Dental bonding: Dental bonding involves the painting of a pliable composite resin material directly to chipped front teeth. Once hardened, it conceals the chip as well as other aesthetic flaws, providing a cost-effective, but still aesthetically pleasing, alternative to porcelain veneers.
LEARN MORE ABOUT TREATMENTS FOR CHIPPED TEETH
To learn more about treatments for chipped teeth, please contact Contemporary Dental Arts, P.C. today.