I have a chip in the courner of my front tooth. I want it fixed. What does enamel contouring entail?

Question

Will it look natural? Can the piece they fix ever get white if i choose to whiten my teeth?

Answer 1

If the chip is small enough a filling may not need to be placed. Most times we can smooth it out and polish it, making it look like it did before you chipped it. There are layers of enamel and a little smoothing won't do anything to harm or make the tooth hyper sensitive. If you want to bleach it will be fine. If you have a filling placed, you probably would want to bleach first and get to the shade you want to stay at. Hope I've been of some help and if the chip isn't bothering you in any way, you might want to wait until your next cleaning appointment, we usually don't charge if you there for something else, but if you make an appointment it might be a charge. Just ask when you call.

By the way the procedure I'm talking about is "enamel contouring," the addition of a composite resin would be a "bonding" (restoration) placed. Both require the smoothing and polishing to finish them. The later requires some of your tooth structure to be removed for retention of the composite bonding material, then it's adjusted, smoothed and polished to look as natural as your tooth did, only it will not bleach and over time it does darken. The enamel contouring is for small chips and it involves adjusting your own natural tooth by "re-shaping" some of the enamel and smoothing and polishing it, leaving only your natural tooth that will bleach. Sorry I re-read this today and realized you may not have understood what I was talking about so I thought I might clarify it more. Hope you understand the difference now.


additional info: young1 above stated his teeth got whiter natrually, it actually was the composite filling material that darkened, which they are well known for doing over time.

Answer 2

Enamel contouring is when the dentist takes a bur and shapes the tooth, If you add bonding to the tooth now (which is the color of your teeth ) and later down the road you want to whiten your teeth, the bonding will not change, it will stay the same shade as your teeth are now, you will have to have it replaced. It would be best if money is a factor and you need the bonding... have it done with a lighter shade.

Answer 3

ok,i did the same thing,chipped my tooth
they fixed it,put same shade as my teeth,few years later my teeth got whiter(naturally)and then i went back and said it has a different shade of coulor & they fixed it easily