This is a problem for patients who have already worn off some of the enamel covering the edges of the front teeth. Playing sports without mouth guards, grinding during your sleep or when you’re stressed & using your teeth to undo bottles are the main causes of this happening & can be inevitable with the ageing process.
Once the dentine is exposed which is the yellow layer, small pieces of the enamel seem more likely to continue to chip off from the front of the teeth. It’s quite easy to fix chipped teeth, using tooth coloured composite which provides a natural looking result. However these fragile spots are suspect to chip again once repaired due to the natural enamel already being missing.
If the chipping is caused from grinding in ones sleep, MD often recommend a night guard for patients that grind to prevent extra wear and chipping that can happen during the night. Once a night guard is worn, often patients notice less of a tendency to develop chips on their front teeth and repairs tend to last longer as well.
Veneers are another solution that can be used to fixed chipped and worn edges of front teeth, but they usually require some tooth preparation and are a far more costly alternative.
Your Dentist may also want to build up your back molar teeth which may have ground down also over time to re-do your bite and reduce an extra pressure being put on your front teeth.
There are a number of ways we can combat grinding and chipping of teeth, the best way is to come in and have a consultation with one of our friendly dentists to discuss your options & see what is right for you.
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