It only takes a single accidental bite or blow to chip a tooth. While a small enamel fracture may seem harmless, any tooth chip can progress to severe infection, pain, and tooth loss without prompt treatment. As specialist dentists, the Smile Clinic London relies on advanced techniques to restore damaged teeth and facilitate quick healing after a chip injury. Read on to learn what to do if you chip a tooth, common causes, treatment options, expected costs, and tips for at-home recovery.
Signs Your Tooth is Chipped
Most chipped or cracked tooth cases involve the anterior teeth since their position makes them most vulnerable to force and trauma. Typical symptoms include:
- Sharp edges or uneven areas on tooth enamel
- Sensitivity to hot, cold, or sweet foods/drinks
- Mild to severe pain in the affected tooth and surrounding gum
- Changes in tooth appearance due to loss of structure
- Injury inside the mouth with bleeding and swelling
Seek emergency dental care for even minor tooth fractures, as small problems can worsen quickly without restoration. Prompt treatment is critical for fractures involving nerve or pulp exposure to avoid infection and extensive repairs.
What Causes Chipped Teeth?
A tooth chip or crack develops whenever a compressed force fractures the enamel and/or dentin layers making up the anatomical crown exposed in the mouth. Certain factors raise the odds of sustaining this common dental injury:
- Playing contact sports without proper mouthguard protection
- Biting forcibly into very hard foods like nuts or candies
- Grinding or clenching teeth at night
- Trauma from falls, accidents, or blows to the mouth
- Excessive tooth wear and previous damage weaken the structure
Even those who care well for teeth and avoid harmful habits can chip a tooth now and then due to simple bad luck. Heredity also plays a role, as some people naturally have thinner or weaker enamel prone to chipping.
Repair Options from Simple to Complex
Effective chip treatment involves carefully removing any sharp edges, and then restoring missing structure for a natural appearance and function. The Smile Clinic London uses advanced techniques like dental bonding, veneers, or crowns to seamlessly mend even significantly damaged smiles.
Minor Enamel Chipping
For tiny chips affecting just the outer enamel, simple smoothing and polishing is often sufficient as treatment. More noticeable small chips can be beautifully corrected using tooth-coloured bonding material for a non-invasive fix. Expect minor bonding to cost around £75-£150 per tooth.
Significant Loss Requiring Crowns
Larger fractured sections must be addressed with tooth-coloured crowns or veneers. By covering the entire tooth, dental crowns and veneers reinforce the remaining structure while precisely replacing all missing sections for a flawless smile. These restorations start around £500 – £750 per damaged tooth.
Root Canal & Post/Core Build-Ups
A root canal is first necessary to prevent infection before the restoration phase for extensive loss extending into the dentin and pulp. With pulp removal, costs increase to £400 – £700 for the root canal, £150+ for post and core build-up, plus £500+ per crown.
However, with prompt attention and skilled care, even severely injured teeth can be salvaged and restored to full function. No matter how small or extensive tooth fractures are, the specialists at Smile Clinic London have advanced techniques to protect damaged teeth.
Recovering after a Chipped Tooth Repair
While dental treatment can swiftly resolve tooth chip eye sores, proper at-home care improves the longevity of repairs and ensures your smile stays healthy. The Smile Clinic London suggests these post-treatment guidelines:
- Stick to soft foods for the first 24 hours; avoid very hot or cold items.
- Brush gently around restored areas and floss carefully.
- Rinse twice daily with antiseptic mouthwash.
- Take ibuprofen as directed for swelling or discomfort.
- See your dentist promptly if you notice new sensitivity, bleeding, or other changes.
- Return promptly if the repaired chip or crown feels loose or uneven.
Call your dentists in London with any concerns and protect restorations from further impact to maximize their lifespan. Avoid chewing ice, nails, pens, opening packages with your teeth, and other habits that commonly damage smiles.
Get High-Quality Care and Save Your Smile
No matter what caused your tooth trauma or how small the chip may initially appear, skilled restoration is critical to regaining full smile function and aesthetics. Delaying treatment poses serious risks of worsening infection, bone loss, decay spread, and even losing teeth when problems turn severe. Thankfully, Smile Clinic London offers urgent dental care for damaged smiles. Their dentists use precision techniques to seamlessly rebuild cracked and fractured teeth of any kind.
Best of all, prompt attention for tooth chips detected early often allows for affordable fixes before extensive repairs become necessary. Minor enamel chipping can often be restored for just £75-£150 using quick dental bonding for instance. More significant injuries involving the dentin, pulp, or root may require advanced treatments like crowns, root canals, implants and bridge work, but even complex cases with major reconstruction can cost as little as £500 per damaged tooth when caught early.
No matter what caused your dental trauma or what restoration treatments your unique fracture requires, turn to the specialists at Smile Clinic London for affordable excellence in salvaging damaged teeth. Through cutting-edge techniques, precision craftsmanship, and urgent response times, they can facilitate healing and restore beautiful, confident smiles after tooth fractures small and large. Call today for an emergency visit and protect your oral health, function, and aesthetics without delay after the misfortune of a chipped or cracked tooth. Their dental artists stand ready to help 24/7!
Don’t Wait with Tooth Trauma
Even if a tooth chip seems minor initially, see a dentist promptly for evaluation and repair. The longer fractured enamel goes unrestored, the higher your risks for pain, infection decay spread, root damage, and major tooth loss. Thankfully the master dentists at Smile Clinic London offer advanced repair treatments for fractures small and large – all with comfortable care and optimal aesthetics. Reach out today online or by phone for an urgent visit to get your smile back on track safely and beautifully after the misfortune of a Tooth Repair London.
