Fig.1	Fig.2
Fig.3	Fig.4

Dental Education Lecture: How to Repair Chipped Teeth

It is most difficult to comfort a patient with a chipped tooth.  It happens so suddenly that nobody is prepared for it.  

There are two ways to fix chipped teeth: white filling (resin) and veneer.

The advantage of resin is that the chip is repaired in one appointment (Fig.1,2).  It is less expensive and more conservative.  The doctor does not need to remove our tooth structure.

The advantage of veneer is that it looks a little bit better (Fig.3,4).  The color stays longer.  The disadvantages of veneer include expense, more appointments, and more grinding.  The dentist has to remove a thin layer of our tooth structure, mainly the enamel, to make room for the veneer.(Fig.2 of Veneers & Crowns).

As we get old, our teeth become smoother, simply by chewing a lot (wear and tear).  Fig.1 and 2 are from a 19 year-old man, whereas Fig.3 and 4 are from a 40 year old or so gentleman.

Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 12/29/2009, last revision 05/12/2010