Your tooth enamel is very hard, which allows you to bite off, chew and grind hard foods. Unfortunately, it can still be damaged by the forces associated with a blow to the face or a hard fall. Sometimes these events can carry so much force that it actually chips or fractures a tooth. There are other times when a chip or fracture can be caused by something as mundane as grinding your teeth when you sleep or using your teeth as tools.

The severity of the fracture will directly determine the repair or restoration options your Thompson Dental dentist recommends. If the area is not repaired in a timely manner, it will invite tooth decay to set in.

In some cases, a minor fracture might only damage the tooth enamel. This often can be repaired with a filling or restoring all of the tooth enamel with a crown.

However, if you feel a sharp or persistent pain in the fractured tooth it most likely means that the damage extends into the pulp or root of the tooth. This usually requires the dentist to perform a root canal to replace the damaged internal structures with of the tooth, and form an abutment to later anchor a crown in place.

If the fracture is minor, yet located on a tooth in your smile, then we might be able to simply cement a dental veneer in place, or restore the tooth with a cosmetic porcelain crown.

If you have a fractured or chipped tooth, you should call Thompson Dental’s office in Laguna Niguel, CA at 949-558-0111 to explore your repair and restoration options.