Getting a chipped tooth is something very common that can happen to anyone regardless of age, given the right circumstances. Some people will be more prone to suffering from the broken teeth due to the shape of their jaws, their teeth, etc. Luckily for everyone, fixing these injuries is relatively easy, even in more extreme cases where big portions of the tooth are lost. There are many ways to fix or even replace missing teeth, all of which allow the user to live a normal life and even start or continue their specialized orthodontic care with almost no problem.

How Orthodontic Problems Can Cause Broken or Chipped Teeth

Many factors can lead to broken teeth. It can be something as simple as a fall or taking a hit while you are playing a sport; either way, the possibility of chipping a tooth is much greater when an orthodontic problem is present.

Malocclusion, or bad bite as it’s commonly known, is the term used to refer to baldly aligned or angled teeth. This non-optimal positioning pits the teeth against each other, creating more pressure between them and thus making them weaker over time and more susceptible to break-on impact.

Throughout the types of bad bites, we’ll see, that the extra wear and pressure on the teeth are consistent.  Thus, having any of these will greatly increase the probability of breaking or chipping a tooth by either a powerful impact, as stated previously, or just weakening the teeth to the point where they cannot withhold day-to-day activities. Here are some of the most common bad bites in people.

Protrusive Incisors

This type of malocclusion happens when the upper teeth are protruding forward in relation to the lower teeth. There are a lot of reasons this can happen, the regression of the lower jaw, the constant sucking of a finger, nail-biting, etc.

Prognathism

It occurs when either the lower or upper jaw protrudes from the other, generally, we use this term to refer to the protrusion of the lower jaw. The placement of the jaw misaligns the teeth, making them prone to more wear than needed.

Retrusive Incisors

“Retrusive incisors” refers to a condition where the teeth are angled toward the inside of the mouth instead of being straight down as usual. As stated in oral health, having intrusive incisors can restrict movement and extra wear.

Edge-To-Edge Bites

As the name implies, this happens when the bottom and upper front teeth align and collide when closing your mouth. It can interfere with one’s chewing and creates more pressure in the affected area.

How to Fix a Broken or Chipped Tooth?

Fortunately, there are tons of ways of fixing a broken or chipped tooth. Depending on how much of the tooth has been chipped or broken, the dentist will decide what approach is best, usually between bonding, dental cap or crown, dental veneers, and root canal therapy.

The fastest and least intrusive treatment is dental bonding. A dental health specialist will commonly use dental bonding when a small portion of the enamel, the outer covering of the teeth, has been chipped. Your general dentist will use a sticking agent on the tooth before they place the resin; once they have applied the resin, they will shape the resin and harden it by using a blue light. Once the process is over, the bonding material tends to be unnoticeable.

For more serious injuries, a dental cap or crown may be a better choice. This additional piece helps cover a larger portion of the tooth, and we could use various types to fit your needs and goals better. To accommodate the crown, your dentist may need to grind away a part of what’s left of the tooth. This treatment can take a few visits, as they will need x-rays to check the tooth’s surroundings and make a model for the crown.

Regardless of the approach taken, the patient can still have orthodontics applied. Given braces and dental crowns as an example, the orthodontist will apply braces to the dental cap wearer, although, the type of braces they end up using will most likely be different from someone who doesn’t have a crown. Orthodontists take this decision to prevent any damage to the dental cap itself; of course, there are some risks that damage might happen, but the possibilities of that are low.

On the flip side, if someone has a chipped tooth without treatment and wants to get braces, they can get them, but a dentist will have to fix their tooth first with one of the previously mentioned treatments. If you or anyone you know has a chipped tooth problem and wants to get it fixed don’t hesitate to contact us or request an appointment.