Can I Count on My Chipped Tooth to Heal Itself?

Let’s say you’re eating out when you suddenly chip a tooth on your fork. You might feel the issue isn’t a big deal at first. “After all,” you think, “won’t the chipped tooth just heal itself?” This view, unfortunately, is very mistaken. In truth, teeth with chips won’t recover over time; only dental treatment can help repair their damage. If you want to know why that’s the case, your Schenectady dentist is here to help. Here’s a summary of why chipped teeth don’t heal and why to treat them at your local dental practice.

Why Won’t a Chipped Tooth Heal?

You see, your body can only heal parts of itself that have blood cells. With cut skin, for instance, blood will clot to protect the wound and later work to build new tissue.

Your enamel, however, has no blood cells. On the contrary, it’s mostly made of calcium phosphate. As such, your enamel can’t regenerate the parts of itself that chip away. It can only recover enough to fight cavities or infections.

What Would Happen If You Left It Alone?

Without professional help, your tooth chip will cause you long-term health problems. At first, it’ll trigger symptoms like discomfort, sensitivity, or even severe pain. Over time, though, lack of treatment will lead to more extensive damage. In fact, bacteria could enter your chipped tooth’s vulnerable area and infect its pulp.

In other words, postponing a dental visit can make the difference between needing dental bonding or having to get a root canal.

How Could a Dentist Treat Chipped Teeth?

Fortunately, most dentists have the tools and resources to fix chipped teeth. Depending on your chip’s severity, a practice might recommend one of the following:

• Dental Bonding –  Dental bonding uses tooth-colored resin to address damaged teeth. In particular, the treatment covers up things like stains, chips, cracks, and fractures. It sculpts and shapes the resin to match and blend with your remaining teeth.
• Porcelain Veneers –  Porcelain veneers are thin, ceramic shells that dentists apply to the front of your teeth. Like bonding, they cover flaws like stains, chips, cracks, etc. If you care for them well, their results can last between ten and fifteen years.

A chip in a tooth isn’t going to fix itself, no matter how much you wish otherwise. That said, talk to a trusted dentist for treatment options in the coming days.

About the Practice

Oshins of Smiles is based in Schenectady, NY. As led by the titular Dr. Steven Oshins, our practice aims to give patients beautiful smiles *and* healthy bodies. To that end, we offer preventive, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry, as well as emergency treatments. Furthermore, we also perform orthodontics in the form of Invisalign clear aligners. For more information or to book an appointment, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (518)-356-5635.