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General Dentistry Tooth Repair: What Are My Options?

As a leading provider of tooth repair near Mercer County, NJ, Hamilton Dental is well-versed on the routines and procedures to repair damaged teeth. Today, we’ll take a look at some common practices, but first, let’s clear up what can constitute a dental emergency.

​What is a Dental Emergency?

Your primary dentist should be the first person you contact if you experience a dental emergency that needs immediate attention. A substantial injury to your mouth, swelling of your jaw, or increased infection warrant consulting your dentist as soon as possible. Your dentist can provide you with an oral exam and determine what may be causing your symptoms. From there, they can assess how to treat your predicament. Let’s take a look at some ways your primary dentist can repair your teeth.

Chipped Tooth

If you chipped off a small piece of tooth enamel, your dentist might be able to repair the damage with a filling. If the repair is done to a front tooth that is detectable when you smile, your dentist will likely perform a procedure called bonding, which uses a composite resin that matches the color of your teeth.

Bonding is a straightforward procedure that does not typically require numbing the tooth. To bond your tooth, your dentist etches its surface with a liquid or gel to roughen it a bit, allowing the bonding material to adhere to it. Next, the dentist will apply an adhesive material to the tooth and a tooth-colored resin. After shaping the material to look natural and flush with your tooth, the dentist uses ultraviolet light to harden it.

Cracked/Fractured Tooth

A crack can begin from the chewing surface or the root of a tooth and could cause severe pain or just mild discomfort. But since a small crack can open a pathway to infection, it’s crucial to see a dentist—regardless of whether you are in a great deal of pain. The dentist can x-ray the tooth and determine the extent of the damage and the appropriate course of action.

A crack that does not expose the tooth’s pulp is the simplest to treat. Depending on crack size, a dentist can restore the tooth with filling material, a veneer, or a crown. If the crack exposes the pulp, a root canal treatment and a crown may be able to repair it.

Root Canal Therapy

If a chip or break is large enough to expose the pulp, bacteria from the mouth can enter and infect it. If your tooth hurts, becomes discolored, or is heat-sensitive, the pulp is probably damaged or diseased. Root canal therapy involves removing the dead pulp, cleaning out the root canal, and then sealing it. Root canal therapy may be performed by dentists, and are typically no more painful than having a cavity filled.

For tooth repair or full mouth dental implants near Mercer County, NJ, contact Hamilton Dental today!