Broken, chipped or ugly teeth?
If you would like better shaped teeth due to them being broken, twisted, misaligned, chipped, damaged or if you are generally unhappy with the way your teeth look there are generally 3 alternatives.
- Dental Bonding or ‘Instant Veneers’
- Dental Veneers
- Dental crowns
How to fix broken or chipped teeth
Mild breaks and chips can be fixed by a dentist using dental bonding or instant veneers, more severe breaks or chips may require dental veneers and the most severe breaks may require a dental crown. There are no reliable ways of fixing a broken or chipped tooth at home.
There are products such as this on Amazon which can provide a temporary ways to fix a chipped tooth, however always please visit the dentist as soon as possible as this is not a permanent repair, trapping food or debris underneath this repair could damage your tooth.
How much to fix a chipped tooth?
This will entirely depend on how chipped the tooth is. Paying privately, a dentist will usually charge for an initial consultation (if you are not an existing patient affairs) this can vary from as little as £20 up to £200. The cost to repair a chipped tooth will likely be from £80 up to several hundred. This will be for the smallest composite filling up to a full dental veneer or even dental crown to fix the chipped tooth. If you are unsure of the costs then call your dentist beforehand who should be able to give you a reasonably accurate answer.
How to eat with a broken tooth
The best thing to do if you have a broken tooth is to avoid eating on that part of your mouth. If it is a broken front tooth then these are usually used for cutting into food, such as an apple. The easiest thing to do if a front tooth is broken is to cut the food up smaller, this will then need you use your back teeth more. If it is a back to that has broken you will probably need to eat on the other side until either the pain has stopped or the broken tooth has been fixed.
Broken tooth extraction
In rare instances are broken tooth may need extraction. This could be because:
- The break in the tooth has destroyed part of the pulp (the living part of the tooth).
- The broken tooth has become dislodged in its socket and has not re-integrated adequately.
Dentists will always try to save as many teeth as possible so extracting a broken tooth will be a last resort.
Broken tooth no pain?
If you have broken tooth and have no pain it is unlikely that this will be considered a dental emergency. You should however contact your dentist to make an appointment as soon as is practically possible.
How to stop toothache from a broken tooth
The first thing to do is to stop any bleeding if there is any. Applying pressure by biting gently onto gauze can help to restrict blood flow and allow blood clots to form, thereby stopping the bleeding. Once the bleeding has stopped you may find that a cold compress on the outside of your cheek, closest to the broken tooth in conjunction with over-the-counter painkillers can help to stop the toothache. Some people also find that the tannic acid which is released from a teabag can also help to ease the pain, if you wish to do this then gently apply a used teabag to the affected area in your mouth.