Chipped Teeth

Chipped tooth of a child. Get this issue fixed at Oxnard dentist Carson & Carson, DDS.

The Most Common Dental Injury – Chipped or Broken Teeth

A chipped or broken tooth is the most common dental injury that is seen in modern dentistry. This type of injury can range from being unnoticeable to being excruciatingly painful depending on the severity and location. If your chipped tooth is the result of trauma to the head, then you should seek out the closest emergency room immediately to ensure that you do not have worse injuries.

If you are looking for help with a chipped or broken tooth that is non life-threatening in the Oxnard or Ventura County area, then call us immediately at Carson & Carson, DDS (805) 983-0717. We offer 24/7 availability for dental emergencies such as toothaches or chipped teeth and have over 45 years of experience serving excellent quality dental care to patients in Oxnard, California.

Causes of Chipped Teeth

Although they are sturdy bones, teeth can be relatively delicate when it comes to trauma. Your teeth can be chipped or broken in a large number of ways; the most common of which include:

Trauma to the face. This can happen from many things such as catching a baseball in the face or getting firmly hit int he head. If your head has been recently injured, then you should seek immediate medical attention.
Cavities. Cavities can weaken the structure of a tooth causing it to break when under the right pressure.
Biting something hard. Teeth that are poorly taken care of or have cavities are more vulnerable to cracking or breaking. When this type of tooth meets the dense surface of an ice cube, a bone, or a piece of hard candy, the tooth is not able to bite through the hard object and the force of the bite can cause it to chip or break apart.
Opening packages with teeth. Opening or holding objects with your teeth can cause some serious damage. The added stress of manipulating objects with your teeth can easily cause cracks and chips in the structure of your teeth and should be avoided.
Old Amalgam Fillings. Outdated fillings are not always able to support the enamel of the tooth as they are supposed to. This can cause a tooth to chip or break easier when it comes in contact with harder foods or trauma.
Bruxism or teeth grinding. Individuals who suffer from Bruxism excessively grind their teeth. Over time, the build up of stress on a tooth from the grinding can create a weakness in the tooth structure that can cause a tooth to chip or break apart.

Repairing Chipped Teeth

Before You See The Dentist

Make an appointment to see a dental professional as soon as possible if you have chipped a tooth. Before seeing a dentist, you can provide care for the damaged tooth by: rinsing it with warm water, applying pressure with gauze to stop bleeding, or cover the chipped tooth with a dental cement from a drugstore to protect it until you are seen by a dentist.

Repair of the Chipped Tooth

Depending on the cause and severity of damage to the chipped tooth, the method of repairing the tooth can differ greatly.

Mildly chipped teeth. Easily fixable at Carson & Carson, DDS in Oxnard, California. For teeth that are mildly chipped, we typically smooth and reshape the tooth with bonding and contouring. Then, the tooth can be polished and is ready for use.

For teeth that are moderately chipped, a crown or filling is used to restore the normal functionality and aesthetic of the tooth and to protect the more vulnerable layers that were exposed from the tooth chipping.

Severely chipped tooth with expose root layer. Carson & Carson, DDS in Oxnard, California. For teeth that are severely chipped or broken, the common treatment is a root canal with a crown placed over the tooth after. A severely chipped tooth has damage that penetrates all 3 layers of the tooth – Enamel, Dentin, and Pulp layers, and is considered a dental emergency. Without immediate treatment, a severe chip or break can develop into an intensely painful issue through a dental infection or irreparable tooth decay that are common when a tooth is broken and left untreated.

Preventing Chipped Teeth

Not all cracks or breaks in teeth are avoidable, but there are some things that you can abstain from to better your chances of keeping your teeth in tact.

Activities to avoid:

Chewing on hard objects such as bones, ice, or unpopped popcorn kernels.
Not wearing a mouth guard when taking part in contact sports.
Clenching or grinding your teeth can weaken them over time and lead to a break.
Physical confrontation. Getting hit in the face is not too great for the longevity of your teeth.
Opening packages with your teeth. There are far better ways to open objects than at the cost of your teeth.

You should always be careful when biting down on hard food with a tooth that has had a filling or cavity in the past as the strength of these teeth can be weaker than normal.

Schedule An Appointment Today

For immediate help with your chipped or broken tooth, call the Oxnard dentist of Carson & Carson, DDS at (805) 983-0717. We are available 24 hours a day for emergency dental treatment on issues such as chipped teeth and toothaches. Call us today for affordable dental care from dentists with over 45 years of experience in cosmetic and restorative dentistry. We serve all of Ventura County including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Ventura, Camarillo, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Carpinteria, Santa Paula, and the greater Los Angeles area.

Reviews

JoAnn Cataldo

21:06 07 Aug 23

Carson and Acasio Dentistry is great! All staff, including dentists, are very friendly and nice. They actually seem to care how the patients are doing. It's also easy to get there as it's right to the west of Oxnard Blvd.

Shannon Ball

18:19 07 Aug 23

This has been the best dental office we have been to as a family. They are warm, and welcoming. Anytime I have called to make an appointment, we were able to be seen quickly. I highly recommend them!

Rich Sprague

15:03 04 Aug 23

Several years ago, I moved to Oxnard and needed some dental work done. In the past, I have always chosen a dentist who offers Sleep Sedation (IV) which puts one into a state of fantasyland, and which I really like when having serious dental work.Upon looking online, I was pleased to find Carson & Carson and was initially treated by the father, LeRoy. On a subsequent visit where I desired the IV, I did not have the requisite ride home and son Dr. Derek graciously dropped me off at the house. To this day, I am grateful for his kind gesture.A little over a year ago, I broke a tooth and met Dr. Mike Acasio for the first time. He really made me feel comfortable with his incredibly positive and caring bedside manner. I then learned he was becoming a partner in the practice and began a discussion about how I could help them rebrand their practice with a new name and look.They hired me to be their marketing services manager and, among other things, to create a new website which is soon to be launched.During the last few months, I have gotten to see and experience first-hand their practice from top to bottom. The doctors are phenomenally talented and dedicated to care for their patients and provide the best experience one can have (most people, like me, would rather walk on hot coals rather than going to a dentist).The Carson-Acasio staff have a great bond and they are committed to their patients with the best care, and support each other through the process.Then just recently, I needed two teeth removed. Dr. Mike convinced me that he could do the work without sleep sedation. He removed the teeth, which then included a third which was badly infected and joined to the bone , and even had to crack the bone … all without me suffering or panicking.I’ve been going to dentists for a lifetime, and Dr. Mike is the best practitioner I have ever encountered.Over the past year and a half, I’ve learned a lot about dentistry and specifically about the Carson & Acasio practice. I’ve had the opportunity and privilege to be part of their organization and see, for myself, what they do and how they work. These folks simply stand head and shoulders above most people in the field.My mouth thanks them.