Options for Chipped Front Tooth Restoration

Your dentist will determine which of the following treatments is best for you and your mouth to correct your fractured front tooth.

Dental Bonding or Composite bonding is a way to repair chipped, cracked teeth. Composite bonding will last on average up to 10 years. During the procedure, the tooth will be roughened with polishers and a conditioning liquid. Composite putty will be applied, molded, and smoothed. Then, a blue spectrum light is used to harden the composite. When the tooth bonding has dried, it will be shaped and polished to match the rest of the tooth.  This is the least expensive option and is only viable if there is enough healthy tooth structure remaining.  A root canal can be performed before or after the front tooth bonding many times without interfering with the bonding.



Veneers are covers for a tooth. Porcelain veneers provide the most attractive and realistic results possible. The veneer is fabricated by a trained ceramist and is bonded to the front of the tooth, transforming the tooth’s appearance. With good care, veneers can last up to 30 years, so you won’t have to worry about getting it replaced regularly.



You can have veneers placed on the one broken tooth or a few teeth for aesthetics. This cosmetic treatment is truly a wonderful option for many people.  With this option root canal treatment can be completed prior or after the front tooth veneering many times without interfering with the veneer. This is a more expensive option and is only viable if there is enough healthy tooth structure remaining.



A ceramic crown is a cap that covers the tooth and protects in and approves the appearance. It acts as a strong covering for your tooth. When you get a crown, this helps prevents you from losing your tooth. Without a crown, a damaged tooth won’t be able to withstand the pressure of chewing. The ceramic crown is fabricated by a trained ceramist to match your teeth or you can add adjacent veneers for greater aesthetics.  In this option it is best to decide on the need for root canal treatment prior to crown placement if possible as a root canal will many times lead to needing a new crown.



Good luck!

Based on the amount of tooth that is missing I would recommend that you have a porcelain veneer placed.  This will be the most durable and the most aesthetic. Composite bonding may be a viable option, but will not last as long as a veneer.  If the tooth should ever need a root canal they should be able to complete it without ever touching your porcelain veneer.  Hope this helps. 

Options 1. Dental veneers or laminatesoption 2 . composite restorationcomposite will stain and may chip again and again, where as porcelain veneer may last upto 25 years

Hi, the restorative choice depends on the size of chip in relation to the actual tooth size, and your occlusion. 
A tiny chip on normal occlusion can easily be restored with resin bonding, while an edge to edge occlusion would require a veneer. 
If a quarter or third of the tooth is chipped I would recommend a veneer. A well designed  and placed veneer can last a lifetime provided you follow proper home care.
If more than 1/3 of tooth is missing you may need to consider a crown.
With regards to a root canal treatment after center placement, most endodontists would be able to perform a root canal without requirement to remove a sound veneer or crown. 

Thank you for your question. A chipped front tooth is one of the easiest things to treat to start with (for a small chip) but eventually can become one of the hardest things to treat.The aim is to treat as simply as possible for as long as possible and it depends on the size of the chip and whether the inside (the tooth pulp) is involved. Your dentist is the best guide as you have not posted a photo, but I make this one recommendation. Plan on whitening your teeth, because this will massively simplify your dentist's job in colour matching your teeth to the chip repair area. Good luck in find a great solution - Thomas Dey, BDS, MSc

Great question and I understand your concern since its a front tooth! With half the tooth missing, bonding is an option with the understanding that there is an increased risk of having it fracture and requiring maintenance and upkeep occasionally. Very large bondings may chip and discolor. A veneer is definitely the stronger long term option. If a root canal is needed your dentist would have to evaluate to make sure the tooth itself has not changed color and that a veneer has adequate coverage. If not, a crown may be necessary. Since you are so young, it is not unreasonable to start with the bonding for now and think about the porcelain restoration at some point in the future. The bonding is also the less expensive of the two options. Best of luck and follow up for more info!

If you've chipped half the tooth off, bonding may not hold up that well, but you could try it first if you want to be as conservative as possible. You just may not be able to achieve as great aesthetics as you could with a veneer.A veneer will look the best and it's still reasonably conservative. You shouldn't need to replace it for many years and you can get  a root canal through the back of the tooth without affecting the front

What are the options for fixing
chipped front teeth. Definitely there
are multiple options but it depends on the severity of the fracture.If it’s a small chip then definitely a direct
bonded composite can be used. But that
will have to be replaced more often as the composite of resin starts to
stain. The more lifelike and longer
lasting alternative would certainly be porcelain veneer, which is placed over
the tooth to restore it to full size and beauty. If the tooth should ever need a root canal,
the root canal can actually be done without hurting the porcelain veneer. If the fracture of the tooth initially is
very severe then definitely a crown would be more appropriate. It all depends on the extent of the fracture
and should be evaluated by your dentist.

A chipped tooth can often times be repaired with simple bonding. If the
tooth does not have any decay or pulpal involvement (needing root canal
treatment), the tooth can be cosmetically and conservatively
treated with composite resin (white filling) bonding. This is the
treatment I often recommend to my younger patients who need less
invasive treatment. This type of restoration is less aggressive and does
not require much removing of tooth structure. However, if your tooth is
further compromised, you may be better served with a Porcelain Veneer.
A porcelain veneer is also a less aggressive restoration which involves
reducing
about 0.5 mm of tooth structure from the front surface of the tooth.
Your best bet is to do the most conservative treatment option given
to you by your dentist. Since you are a young patient, it is important
that you preserve as much tooth structure as possible. Good luck!

Your options are composite bonding, porcelain veneer or porcelain crown.  Since you said that half of the tooth has broken off, then I would lean heavily in favor of the porcelain veneer or porcelain crown.

With regard to root canal, because so much of the tooth has been fractured off, a root canal may be necessary, either soon or years down the road.  For a better prognosis I suggest you consult with an endodontist who can test your tooth for vitality (being alive or dead) and give you his opinion on whether a root canal should be done first, or to wait to make the decision if and when future symptoms appear down the road.

No one can predict how long a porcelain veneer or porcelain crown will last you.  It depends on the type of crown or veneer used, whether or not you have any more trauma to the tooth (a fall or blow to the tooth), your bite (i.e. do you grind or clench your teeth together).  And believe it or not, it also depends on how good your dentist is! 

Crowns and porcelain veneers can last a lifetime, and that is the goal of most cosmetic dentists.  However there is too much out of the dentists control to promise that it would last that long.  I've done crowns and porcelain veneers that I placed 25 years ago and are still in doing well today.  (Porcelain veneers were introduced to dentistry around 1985).  I've also had patients come in to me to replace crowns or veneers that were done only five years earlier.  Unfortunately, no dentist can give you an accurate estimate as to how long the porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns will last, but properly done, they will usually last a long, LONG time!