I fell during a track meet and broke part of my lower front tooth. It’s a small chip, but it is a bit ragged and hurts my lip. My dentist tried repairing it but the bonding (what I think they called it) just keeps falling off. My mother doesn’t think there is anything else they can do. I’m hoping there is some new medicine or technology that can just help the tooth regrow. Do you know of any new things?
Amaya
Dear Amaya,
The problem you are facing is that the edges of the bottom teeth hit the upper incisal edges every time you close your mouth. While a bonding repair is the correct repair for a chipped tooth it requires the dentist to know about occlusion. This takes post-doctoral training and not many dentists invest in this training.
This can be repaired with either composite bonding or with porcelain veneers. The problem you are up against is that you need an expert cosmetic dentist to do the work. When done right, it will not fall off and your mother will not have to keep taking you back and forth to the dentist to get it placed back on.
If you can, either you or your mother should look for a dentist who has studied at one of these schools:
- The Dawson Academy
- The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies
- The Pankey Institute
There are others, but these are three great ones that have special training in both TMJ Disorder and occlusion. Then, you’ll need to take the additional step of looking at their smile gallery to see what type of cosmetic work they do. Look at both bonding and porcelain veneer cases. You’ll want them to be something you find beautiful.
I hope this helps you.
This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.