Posted: September 23, 2020
While tooth enamel is durable, it isn’t indestructible. Every day, people chip or crack their teeth biting down on hard foods like ice or candy, or by trauma caused by a fall or sporting mishap. Whatever the cause, left untreated, a chipped or broken tooth can become more damaged and even become infected, leading to serious health issues and possible tooth loss.
Experienced dentist Dr. Scott Greenhalgh has been helping Denver-area residents address their dental needs for more than three decades. He offers a number of effective treatment options to repair chipped or broken teeth and help you have a strong, healthy, and beautiful smile for years to come.
Treatment Options for a Chipped or Broken Tooth
Depending on the cause and severity of your damaged tooth, Dr. Greenhalgh may recommend:
- Porcelain filling: For very minor chips that only involve a small piece of tooth enamel, a porcelain filling may be used to repair the damage. The composite material used in porcelain fillings match the properties of your natural enamel, reducing the risk of future cracks.
- Dental bonding: Using a tooth-colored composite resin, dental bonding is an effective and affordable way to fix a damaged tooth. In the quick, single-visit procedure, the bonding material is placed on the tooth and shaped to match the natural appearance of your tooth. A curing light is used to harden the composite resin.
- Dental crown: Whether all porcelain, porcelain-fused-to-metal, gold, or all ceramic with a zirconia lining (Lava™ crowns), dental crowns offer protection and reinforcement to weak, worn, and damaged teeth.
- Porcelain inlays or onlays: If the tooth’s damage is not severe enough to warrant a crown, but significant enough to require more than a dental filling, a porcelain inlay or onlay may be appropriate. Inlays and onlays are small pieces of porcelain that are affixed to the tooth and serve as alternatives to either fillings or crowns.
- Porcelain veneers: One of the most versatile dental treatment options available, porcelain veneers are thin shells of dental porcelain that adhere to the front of teeth to mask a variety of imperfections, including chips, cracks, gaps, stains, and more. With proper care, veneers can last for a decade or more.
- Dental implant: If a tooth is damaged so severely that it must be extracted, a dental implant may be placed into the jawbone for a complete tooth/root replacement. Dental implants are the gold standard of tooth-replacement options, and the most permanent and reliable way to replace both a missing tooth and its root.
Schedule Your Appointment Today
If you’ve chipped, broken, or damaged your tooth, it’s important to act quickly. Call Scott Greenhalgh, DDS today at 720-484-8832 for an appointment. Dr. Greenhalgh proudly serves patients in Denver, Lakewood, and Golden, Colorado.
