Oh No! I Chipped my Tooth!
Gino (not his real name) came to see me in one of my practices last month. He had chipped a front tooth and wanted some more confidence with his smile. Although the chip was small, I felt it was worth doing.
A few years ago, I actually chipped one of my front teeth (eating a steak, would you believe!). You wouldn't notice it now because it has been repaired by an incredible friend of mine. Nevertheless, I remember quite how upset I was at the time. It took a week before I could get it fixed and I barely left the house! I learnt the hard way that chipped teeth can have a huge impact on our confidence and that has a knock on effect on our social life.
I've recently been on a Jason Smithson composite course and I was keen to put my enhanced skills into practice. I discussed with Gino if there was anything else he would like to change about his smile. He told me he liked the position of his teeth but wasn't a fan of the gaps and would like them whiter.
Gino's case, although it took a long time to do, was relatively non invasive. It comprised of:
1. Zoom in-chair Whitening (2 hours)
2. Home Whitening with zoom bleach and trays to stabilise the colour (2 weeks)
3. Diagnostic wax ups of his teeth (1 hours)
4. Direct composite build ups to close the gaps and fill in the chip with Venus Pearl (90 minutes)
5. Polishing and review (30 minutes)
No local anaesthetic was needed for this work. I'm quite happy with this natural looking result and I hope Gino is too!
