A chipped front tooth is one of those dilemmas that no one would want to endure. Mostly because it can be very hard to cover-up dental mishaps that affect the front tooth.
As a result, you’ll find that people with a chipped front tooth or tooth loss in the anterior teeth tend to be self conscious about their smiles. In the following article, we’ll discuss all the possible treatments for chipped teeth and their corresponding costs.
What is a chipped front tooth?
Chipping in dentistry generally means losing a part of the tooth but not the entire unit. If the root is still intact, then it is considering chipping. Of course, some of your tooth should also remain. The chipping will usually leave a jarred surface that can irritate your tongue and the inside of your lips.
Causes of a chipped front tooth
There are many causes for chipped teeth, some of the most common include:
1- Poor oral hygiene
Poor oral hygiene is among the most common cause for tooth chipping. What happens when you neglect oral hygiene is that food will build up around the nooks and crannies between your teeth. This build-up of food will become a source of survival or bacteria.
As time passes, bacterial growth will grow exponentially and they will release gases that will dissolve your dentin. In other words, the protective layers will dissolve away making your teeth weaker. As a result, you can easily chip your tooth.
2- Diets rich in acids
Some people enjoy a citrus diet, extra vinegar in their sauce, and so on. But over using acidic products will essentially harm your enamel. You can easily end up with a chipped front tooth once the dentin and other protective layers dissolve away.
It is best to limit down on eating items that are very acidic to protect your teeth.
3- Accidents
Another common cause of a chipped front tooth are accidents. bYour front tooth are more prone to chipping from accidents than your posterior teeth because they are more exposed to the force from any kind of unfortunate event.
How to fix a chipped front tooth?
There are a number of treatments that can successfully correct a chipped front tooth. All treatments have their own pros and cons; some cater to a tight budget while others offer near-natural makeovers.
1- Composite resin for a chipped front tooth
Composite resin is a very popular treatment option for a chipped front tooth. Comes in the form of a clay, your dentist can easily mold the substance to the missing part of your tooth.
Since it’s a practical option and tends to be the most affordable option, most patients turn to composite resin as the ideal treatment. However, you should remember that it is not the most durable option. Resin has a life expectancy of 5 years before it starts wearing down. Likewise, it is most prone to chipping in comparison to other materials.
Although resin is flexible to customize, it can not look very natural. The number of shades that you can achieve with composite is very small, so it is a very slim chance that you will get the exact match to your natural tooth.
You can get your results instantly with composite resin and the procedure is pretty quick and straightforward.
2- Veneers for a chipped front tooth
Veneers are slim shells of porcelain than can be a very suitable treatment option for a chipped front tooth. Veneers are unlike composite veneers where your dentist places the veneers on the entire chipped tooth. This way, it corrects all the mishaps including chipping.
Veneers can entirely transform your teeth that is why people usually get them for all their front teeth. Although in this case it would become the Hollywood Smile procedure.
Nevertheless, you can always opt for just one veneer and with options like the E-max veneers you can get a superior natural design for your chipped tooth.
Technologies like CAD/CAM now allow you to get your veneers in just a day or 2. In addition, you receive a very precise smile design process. In other words, the technology comes with a camera that connects to a software so it can simultaneously take footage of your mouth and design the perfect fitting veneer for you.
To place the veneer in place, you dentist will have to shave down your enamel in a painless process. This makes for enough space to fit the veneers which are usually 0.3 – 0.7 mm in thickness.
Read also : Can dental implants be used for the front teeth?
How much to fix a chipped front tooth?
The costs of treatment for a chipped front tooth will vary from one country to another. So we will list the price average of every treatment in the 3 most popular destinations for dental tourism: USA, UK, and Turkey.
All three destinations offer paralleling levels of quality, but for more instructions you can read our guide to choosing the right dental clinic.
| Procedure | Turkey | UK | USA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porcelain Veneers(1 unit) | $270 – $370 | $1,300 – $1,700 | $2,000 – $2,500 |
| Lumineers (1 unit) | $420 – $520 | $900 – $1,200 | $1,500 – $2,000 |
| Composite Resin (1 unit) | $120 – $200 | $450 – $600 | $800 – $950 |
