Your teeth are covered in enamel, a strong outer layer that protects them, but that doesn’t mean they’re indestructable. A little rough-housing at home, an accident on the playing field, or biting something like hard candy or ice, and you’ve got a chipped tooth. If that happens, call us at St. Mary’s Dental in Mechanicsville.
Small chips can usually be fixed with a process called bonding. A composite resin material is applied to the tooth and shaped to match the original form. When the shape is right, we harden the composite resin with an ultraviolet light.
Sounds easy enough – and in fact, it’s a fairly straight-forward process. In most cases we don’t need to numb the area being worked on. The composite resin can be matched to the color of your existing teeth. Once we’re done, you may even forget it’s there.
A chipped tooth doesn’t always cause pain, but sometimes it does. You can ease any pain wth an over-the-counter pain reliever.
Before your appointment the tooth may have a jagged edge that irritates your tongue and cheek. In that case you can cover it with a piece of sugarless gum, or even wax parafin. That will provide enough protection until you can get into our office.
If you need to eat before you your appointment but find it uncomfortable, choose softer foods that don’t need much chewing (soup, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs are good choices) and avoid biting down.
At St. Mary’s Dental in Mechanicsville we have used cosmetic bonding to repair many chipped teeth. People from North Waldorf, East Huntingtown, and South Laplata also come to our office for dental implants, and much more. Call us to schedule your next checkup today!
Contact St. Mary’s Dental:
301-884-3248
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
28169 Old Village Rd
Mechanicsville, Maryland
20659
