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| Before and After Repair |
The upper front tooth often receives the greatest impact during a fall or accident making it liable to fracture/chip off. If the impact of the fall is not so much, the tooth may chip off without causing any pain or discomfort. However, if the impact of the accident is much, a large part of the tooth may break off causing sensitivity to cold/hot drinks and/or pain.
Treatment
- Minimal fracture/slightly chipped off front tooth with no pain: In this case, the tooth can be restored back to its original shape by using one of the following:
- A ‘tooth colored’ filling material known as Composite can be used to build up the tooth. If given this option, you will be told to avoid biting on hard things such as coconut/roasted corn to prevent the filling from separating from the tooth. Also, the filling tends to change color with time so you’ll be advised to take your colored drinks with straw to prevent it from absorbing the stains.
- A Porcelain veneer(a tooth colored shell) can also be used. This does not absorb stains like the filling material.
- Porcelain crowns(tooth colored caps) though more expensive are more permanent solutions to the filling falling out or changing color after many years. They are caps worn over the tooth.
- Extensive fracture with pain: This may require having a root canal(a special kind of treatment) first on the tooth to take care of the pain before fixing the porcelain crown(cap).
Implications of not repairing the fractured tooth
- It is not aesthetically pleasing, that is, your looks may be altered.
- The tooth next to it may gradually drift(shift position) making your tooth look scattered.