Does filing down a fake tooth make it more prone to chipping? (Photo)

Question

I saw a dentist and he offered to file down a chip in my right front tooth that had been present for 7 years. The lower half of that tooth is fake because I fractured it in a bike fall when I was 7, and had a root canal done then. I am now 21. Less than a year after I accepted this free casual offer to file down that chip in my tooth it developed a chip in the same place. Did filing down the fake bit of tooth compromise the integrity of that tooth, and if so should the dentist have known better?

Mark Edington, DDS · Answer

From your description it doesn't sound like your dentist did anything that would contribute to more chipping of the resin filling on your tooth.  It may be time to consider an all porcelain crown.

Lance Timmerman, DMD, MAGD - Account Suspended · Answer

It is possible that you grind your teeth, and what looked like a chip was truly a wear pattern.  Once smoothed, the grinding continued and created another "chip".Or not.It is hard to say.  If the fake part of the tooth is composite resin that was bonded to the tooth, you are already fortunate that it hasn't broken.  Teeth become weak from having root canal therapy, and after therapy a crown is the most common recommendation.  The porcelain/metal is much more durable than composite resin AND it helps prevent the tooth from fracturing.

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