Broken tooth repair
The procedure is always the same. If you have broken, chipped, or in any other way damaged the structure of a tooth - see a dentist as soon as possible. Otherwise, the tooth may suffer further damage or become infected, which in the final, extreme effect may even result in its loss.
Tooth damage
If the crack or break has a sharp or jagged edge, it is a good idea to cover it with a piece of dental wax or sugar-free chewing gum. This will prevent the likelihood of cutting your tongue or the inside of your cheek and will protect the exposed part of the tooth. If you have the broken piece of the tooth, preserve it by placing it in saline solution or milk, and visit a dentist as soon as possible. There is a high probability that if the root or pulp structures are intact, the broken fragment can be successfully bonded back to the remaining part of the tooth in the mouth.
Treatment for a broken or chipped tooth depends on the extent of the damage. If only a small chip has broken off or only the enamel has been damaged, the tooth can be repaired during a single dental visit. A severely damaged or broken tooth may require a longer and more costly restoration procedure. Here are several ways a dentist can successfully treat a broken or damaged tooth.
Tooth filling or bonding
If only a small piece of tooth enamel has been chipped off, the dentist can repair the damage with a filling. If the repair is on the front teeth, the dentist will likely use a bonding procedure, which utilizes composite resin to restore the broken or chipped tooth.
Bonding is a simple procedure that usually does not require the use of anesthesia. To repair the tooth, the dentist first etches its surface with a liquid or gel to roughen it and help the bonding material adhere. Next, an adhesive is applied to the tooth, followed by a tooth-colored resin. After shaping the bonding material so that it perfectly resembles the patient's other teeth, the dentist will harden the material using ultraviolet light.
Dental veneers
A dental veneer can also restore the healthy appearance of a damaged tooth. A dental veneer is a thin shell made of porcelain or tooth-colored composite material that covers the entire front of the tooth (much like a fingernail covers the end of a finger).
Onlay, inlay, overlay, or crown prosthetic restorations
If a large piece of a tooth has broken off, the dentist may grind or file part of it down and cover it with a crown or an onlay, inlay, or overlay prosthetic restoration. Crowns can be made of metal, porcelain fused to metal, composite resin, or porcelain (zirconia). All-metal crowns are considered by specialists to be the strongest and most durable. The advantage of porcelain and resin crowns is that they look exactly like real teeth (similarly to zirconia crowns, which in appearance are practically indistinguishable from original teeth).
Root canal treatment
If a chip or crack in a tooth is large enough to expose its pulp (the center of the tooth containing nerves and blood vessels), it is almost certain that bacteria from the mouth will enter inside and infect the root system. In such cases, endodontic treatment must be initiated. Root canal treatment involves removing the dead pulp, cleaning the root canal, and then sealing it. In most cases, a broken tooth treated this way should be covered with a crown to effectively protect the damage.
