When you have a chipped tooth, you may wonder how long does it take to fix a chipped tooth. Your dentist can offer a variety of dental treatments such as dental crowns, veneers, and other methods to restore a chipped tooth’s appearance and function. The length of treatment depends on the extent of the damage and the type of tooth repair required.
What to Do After You Chip a Tooth?
A chipped tooth can mean risking enamel erosion and exposing it to infection. These complications may result in more invasive dental treatment, such as a root canal or tooth extraction.
You can contact an emergency dentist to examine your chipped tooth and receive tooth repair with dental crowns or dental bonding.
If the dentist is not available immediately, you can care for your chipped tooth until you can receive care.
Rinse your mouth with a warm saline solution
Immediately rinse with a warm saltwater solution to clean your mouth out. If the chip is due to facial trauma, you can also minimise swelling on the side of your cheek by applying a cold compress every few minutes.
Apply dental wax
If you chip a small part of your tooth and it causes a jagged edge, dental wax can protect the inside of your mouth from damage and bacterial infection. If you don’t have access to dental wax, use a small amount of sugar-free chewing gum.
Avoid chewing near the site of your chipped tooth
A chipped tooth has a greater chance of breaking than a natural one. Avoid eating near the chipped tooth and stick to soft, easy-to-chew foods like eggs, avocado, vegetable purees, and smoothies.
How Long Does it Take to Fix a Chipped Tooth?
Your dentist can evaluate the damage to your chipped tooth when you visit them. They can discuss the appropriate dental procedure for tooth repair and the amount of time it will take to fix your chipped tooth. Your dentist might consider one of these dental procedures for your tooth repair.
Dental bonding
If the tooth chip is minor or visible when you smile, the dentist may use dental bonding for restoration. They apply a tooth-coloured composite resin to your chipped tooth. The substance fills the chipped surface of the tooth.
Afterwards, your dentist cures it with activating light. They then shape and polish the substance to match the natural contour of your tooth. The procedure takes between 30 and 60 minutes.
Dental veneers
Dental veneers can restore appearance if a front tooth is mildly chipped but still healthy. A dental veneer is a customised porcelain veneer covering the entire front of the tooth. Placing a dental veneer to restore a chipped tooth takes two visits to complete.
At your first visit, your dentist shaves a layer of enamel from the tooth to prepare it for a dental veneer. They take impressions of your chipped tooth to produce a mould for an off-site dental lab to mill the veneer. When the veneer arrives at the dentist, you go back to the dentist so they can check its fit and cement it in place.
Root canal therapy
A large chip in your tooth can expose the pulp inside to bacteria. If the pulp becomes infected and is not removed immediately, the tooth may become so severely damaged that it cannot be saved and requires extraction.
Your dentist performs a root canal treatment to remove the infected pulp and clean the root canal. The pulp chamber is then sealed with a latex substance. The procedure can take between 90 minutes and three hours. Sometimes, it can be completed in one sitting, but it typically needs two appointments. The dentist usually completes the root canal with a dental crown.
Dental crowns
When a substantial part of your tooth chips, the dentist may reshape and cover it with a dental crown to protect it and improve its aesthetics. Dental crowns can be made from various materials, such as metal alloys, ceramics, gold alloys, and porcelain-fused-to-metal.
Getting dental crowns involves two appointments, including an initial examination and X-rays to check the roots and bone around your chipped tooth. They remove any decayed tissue and shape your tooth to prepare it for a crown.
Your dentist takes an impression of the tooth receiving the crown to send to a dental lab to fabricate your dental crown. In the meantime, the dentist puts in a temporary crown. Then, you need to go back for a second appointment to fit and place your dental crown.
To help you save time for tooth repair, our dentists at No Gaps Dental provide same-day dental crowns using the Chair-side Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramic (CEREC) procedure. The procedure uses scanners and cameras to take a 3D impression of your mouth and teeth. The dentist can then fabricate personalised dental crowns on-site in less than 15 minutes.
CEREC dental crowns are milled from hypoallergenic ceramic blocks to reduce the likelihood of an allergic reaction. Since our dentist customises all CEREC dental crowns, you can expect the best possible fit with no damage to your gum line and degradation of traditional dental crown adhesive.
Restore Your Chipped Tooth at No Gaps Dental
At No Gaps Dental, our dentist can discuss your options for tooth repair when you have a chipped tooth. You can ask us any questions you may have about how long does it take to fix a chipped tooth for your procedure.
With 15 locations around Sydney, you can access dental care right away for your chipped tooth. Call us on (02) 8806 0227 to book your appointment today.
Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
References
Teeth Bonding
https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/dental-bonding
Repairing a Chipped or Broken Tooth
https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/repairing-a-chipped-or-broken-tooth
How Long Will I Have to Sit in the Dentist Chair During a Root Canal?
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-a-root-canal-take
What You Need to Know About CEREC Dental Crowns
https://www.healthline.com/health/what-you-need-to-know-about-cerec-dental-crowns