You have just had an accident— and now realize that your dental crown appears to have chipped. Should you worry about your chipped crown? How soon should it be fixed? Can it impact your overall dental health?
What to Do if Your Crown Breaks?
If your crown has been cracked or chipped, the first thing you should do is consult your dentist for advice. Your dentist can decide how soon you need to be seen based on your description of the incident. Your dentist will determine whether you should go straight to the emergency room or visit the office for treatment. Generally speaking, unless the damage is severe, causing you pain, it’s safe to wait a day or two to receive chipped tooth repair. Here’re some additional things to consider in the meantime:
- As soon as you notice you’ve got a chipped dental crown, you should examine the affected area to see if pieces are missing. If it’s loose, you should talk to your dentist right away to know what should be your next line of action. Generally, it is not preferable to pull it off, but in some cases, this may be necessary when there’s a possibility of accidentally swallowing the crown.
- You may experience hot or cold sensitivity if the underlying tooth pulp has been affected by an accident. Make sure you bring this to your dentist’s knowledge.
- If your broken tooth or crown is bleeding, you can apply a piece of gauze to the damaged tooth.
- It is a healthy practice to rinse your mouth with salty water, as this will calm any inflammatory processes.
Can a Chipped Dental Crown be Repaired?
The answer is yes, but there are some limitations. People frequently chip crowns made of porcelain. While various methods are used to create porcelain crowns, veneers, and bridges, each one requires heating the porcelain to very high temperatures. However, some expert dentists using the best porcelain repair materials can perform this procedure through composite bonding.
A composite material can be bonded to porcelain when a repair is necessary. However, this is not a regular procedure for most dentists, therefore be sure to choose the one with great expertise. Some dentists may not be able to perform this procedure because it requires keeping a specific porcelain repair kit in stock.
If the crown has suffered major damage, it may be impossible to repair it in such a way it is worth doing the procedure. In such cases, you may need to accept the necessity of investing in a new crown.
Choose Sair Dental Group for Your Dental Crown Repair Needs
Though crown repair doesn’t work for every case, Sair Dental Group provides chipped dental crown repair services for its patients. To schedule an appointment, give us a call: 832.924.2666