Chipped teeth? Don’t beat yourself up—this type of dental injury is quite common. In fact, you probably have a favorite celebrity with missing teeth. The list is fairly long.
Some chipped a tooth away from the limelight, such as Tom Cruise missed a tooth (a hockey puck to the face as a teen), Jim Carrey (roughhousing on the playground), and Paul McCartney (a sudden stop with a moped). Others, though, chipped a tooth while “on the job.”, Hillary Duff, Jennifer Lopez, Niall Horan, Anna Paquin, Zac Efron, and Taylor Swift chipped teeth on stage with a microphone or while shooting. And chipped teeth seem to be an occupational hazard among professional athletes like former NFL star, Jerry Rice.
It turns out, for some celebrities and athletes, chipping a tooth is just an occupational hazard! Chipping a tooth can be painful and embarrassing but luckily there are ways to fix the problem. Make sure you visit your dentist if you ever find yourself in this situation – they will be able to get you back to smiling with confidence again.
Since smiles are an indispensable asset to high-profile celebrities, you can be sure these stars have had those chipped teeth restored. The good news is the same procedures they’ve undergone are readily available for anyone. If you have chipped a tooth, it’s important to seek dental care right away. Depending on the severity of the chip, your dentist may recommend one of two treatments: dental bonding or veneers. Both procedures can help restore your smile and give you back the confidence you had before the accident. So don’t wait – take care of yourself and your smile today! The two most common restorations for chipped teeth are dental bonding and veneers.
Ways to Restore Chipped Teeth
The least invasive way to fix a chipped tooth is by bonding with a material known as composite resin. With this technique, the resin is first mixed to match the tooth color and then applied to the chipped area or applied in layers of color to get just the right look. After a bit of shaping, curing, and adjustment, we’re done—you can walk out with a restored tooth in one visit.
Bonding works well with slight to moderate chips, but it could be less durable when there is more extensive damage. For that, you may want to consider porcelain veneers. Veneers are thin wafers of dental porcelain that are bonded to the front of teeth to mask blemishes like stains, slight gaps, or, yes, chips. Veneers can be so lifelike that you won’t be able to tell the veneered tooth from your other teeth. They are fashioned to match the color and shape of an individual’s teeth. Because of the time and design detail involved, veneers are more expensive than bonding, yet still within an affordable range for many.
Teeth require some alteration before applying traditional veneers because otherwise, the teeth can appear bulky when the veneer is bonded to the existing tooth. To compensate, we remove a little of the tooth enamel. Because this loss is permanent, you’ll need to wear veneers or have some other form of restoration for the tooth from then on. For many people, though, that’s a small price to pay for a smile without chips.
Your first step to repairing a chipped tooth is to come in for an examination. From there, we’ll recommend the best option for your situation. And regardless of which, bonding or veneers, we can change your smile for the better. Take care of yourself and your teeth today!
If you want more information about restoring injured teeth, please get in touch with us or schedule a consultation. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Teeth Whitening” and “Porcelain Veneers: Strength and Beauty as Never Before.”
