[IntlSet]

Hi ladies,

Last night I somehow nicked my front tooth... there's a tiny chip which you can't see unless you get close-up.

I made an appointment to get it fixed. How exactly do they fix a small chip, and is it costly? I do have dental insurance, standard PPO kind of thing...

Thanks for any advice.

[bagaholic85]

i had both of my front teeth chipped and they use that bonding material to fix it, although when i did it, they considered it to be "cosmetic" and i think it was like $100/tooth, but TOTALLY worth it! the other option is caps/veneers

[azhangie]

I got my front tooth filled in as well. It chipped on some hard bon bons. It wasn't covered by my insurance but it was very cheap. I think somewhere along the lines of 60 including the office visit.

Only thing I have to say is: the color of the filling remains the same forever. My teeth have gotten a bit yellow over the years (from drinking coffee) and that one spot on my front tooth is still white. So ask ur dentist to take that into consideration when he choses a color.

[elle tee]

I have had bonding done on front teeth for stains, not chips. The process is quick and pretty painless, I don't think I required novocaine. The dentist will buff the surface of your tooth with a drill so the bonding will adhere, then apply the bonding, then dry it. Took about 5 mins total, at most. The cost for me was under $100. I haven't noticed that my bonding has stayed whiter than my other teeth, in fact I would say it stains at about the same rate (may depend on the material used). However my dentist did tell me that bonding may not respond to over the counter whiteners like Crest Whitestrips, so if you want to whiten your teeth and you have bonding, you should go to the dentist and have it done professionally to ensure that your teeth end up the right shade.

[aklein]

I had a tiny chip on my front tooth. My dentist just kind of filed it down. There wasn't any need to do anything other than that, because it wasn't really noticeable. Maybe they won't have to do anything other than smoothing it out about.

[lm040523]

I had one of my front teeth slightly chipped when I was a teenager riding on the back of a bike, ouch... still hurts for me to think about it. I went to a dentist that lived in the same building as me and she charged quite little, maybe about $50 or less? She filed it down a little, chose a creamish colored molding and molded it onto my tooth. It took really fast, about 10-15 minutes. I was really worried about it falling off or chipping again if I ate hard food, but 7 years later, its still on :)

[pinky_ohana]

Oooo... Good to know. I have a chip the dentist was supposed to fill in, but never did. I'll remember to ask about discoloration since it is my front tooth. I love tPF! It's a one-stop-shop here.

[lorihmatthews]

When I tripped and fell in April I chipped off about 1/3 of my front tooth. I looked like I had a fang. It was terrible! The cosmetic dentist was able to "build up" a new tooth using some kind of bondo-like material and now you can't tell the tooth was ever chipped in the first place. It was pretty expensive, though, probably because he's a cosmetic dentist and a good portion of the tooth was gone. It was $400 for me. (I'm still trying to get my health insurance to cover it because it was emergency dental work due to an accident.)

But as other posters have said, if I ever want my teeth whitened, I will have to get the bonding replaced, as it does not change color like real teeth do. At least that's what this dentist told me, I guess I'll have to wait and see as time passes.

[twin53]

i chipped one of my front teeth - not too big but not small either- and the dentist boded /built it up. less than $200 i think.....

[Vegas Long Legs]

I had Bugs Bunny front teeth until I chipped one off by about half when I was a kid. Wish I was joking! They just filed the other one down. I was really lucky I had the extra tooth material for them to work with. lol

[Lanier]

I chipped a very small part of one of my front teeth, and my dentist just filed the front two teeth down to make them even.

[amanda]

Originally Posted by Lanier

I chipped a very small part of one of my front teeth, and my dentist just filed the front two teeth down to make them even.

same here, it took about 30 seconds and you'd never know the difference now.

[sweet_pees]

the material the dentist will use to build up your tooth is composite. It's the same kind of thing they use to fill up your teeth if you've ever had a cavity and gotten it drilled out. It is also similar to sealants (the white stuff they pour over your molars to prevent cavities). Composite is bonded to your tooth with bonding agents and you dont have to worry about the shade. If your teeth does yellow and end up not matching the composite, you can always ask your dentist to drill the composite out and fill it with another shade. You will basically be charged the same price as a filling but you might have to pay out of pocket since it would be cosmetic (i assume). Let us know what happens A!

[starryeyedjenn]

actually, the dentist chipped my front tooth and did something, i forget what, to fix it. after like a month, it fell off. my new dentist filled it in but that also came off in like a few months.

[grayxie]

I chipped a tooth and didn't even realize it until I saw it in the mirror one day. It wasn't terribly noticeable, so I didn't get it filled in. The dentist said, it happens, but its not a big deal so I didn't get it filled in.