Anything we do to take care of our teeth, even having the best dental hygiene practices, still can't prevent accidental damages to our teeth. Most destroyed or damaged tooth causes pain that may be unbearable to the patient. Tooth problems generally call for a dentist's advice. One tooth problem is a chipped tooth that can either cause pain or not.
If you have a tooth that has lost a part of its original structure, or teeth that have superficial cracks, then you may have chipped teeth. A person may have a chipped tooth from playing sports, having an active lifestyle or meeting with an accident. An active lifestyle can lead to collision of hard things or body parts with our teeth. In most cases, a chipped tooth doesn't cause pain, but it will still need proper care and dental check-up so that it will not become a serious problem. In other cases, a person may not be aware of having it until the person experiences pain while chewing or drinking cold drinks.
If you have a chipped tooth, you must immediately see a dentist. The dentist is the only one who is an expert and who knows how to treat or repair a chipped tooth. The treatments can vary and will depend on how damaged the tooth is. The dentist will check and assess how the damage was incurred, what treatments are appropriate, and whether or not he should perform dental x-rays.
A chipped tooth can have a minimal damage. If this is the case, your doctor can easily smooth out the tooth by filing it in. There is also no need for treatment for teeth with minimal damages. But most dentists don't neglect these cases and deal with minimally damaged chipped tooth by bonding porcelain or composite veneers.
If your tooth was badly fractured, and you can feel pain whenever you chew or drink cold beverages, your tooth needs a crown. This crown is a cap that doesn't only cover the tooth and protect it from further damage, but also gives the tooth a desirable appearance. In some badly fractured teeth, a crown is not fitted anymore, Instead, the bad tooth is filled in. The crowns and fillings must be made to be of the same color or structure as the other existing teeth for a pleasant and more natural appearance. There are also cases in which a tooth doesn't look badly fractured but deep inside it is already badly damaged. In a case like this, a more serious job must be done to repair it. If repairing it will not help, then the tooth must be extracted and replaced.
In any case, whether the chipped tooth is minimally or badly damaged and the person is already aware of this damage, he must immediately go and see the dentist. The dentist will be the one to take care of the chipped tooth. If you have just gotten a chipped tooth from playing sports or meeting an accident, you must directly go to the dentist's office. Remember that waiting to feel pain before seeing the dentist will just increase the damage or deterioration of our teeth.
