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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
How much does it cost to repair a chipped tooth?
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I chipped my front tooth when I was 6 and now I'm 15 and I want to repair it. How much will it cost. About 30-35% of the tooth is chipped. -
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Dr Frank Farrelly
Dentist
Principal Dentist at Darlinghurst Dental, a high quality, affordable practice located in the heart of Darlinghurst. A high emphasis on customer service and impeccable cross … View Profile
Repairing a chipped tooth can be very variable. If you are missing about a third of your tooth as you posted, you are on the border between a small fix and a big fix.
A small fix would be placing a bonded restoration, such as a white filling, on your tooth. If the break is too big or your bite is unfavourable, this may not last long term.
A more permanent fix for a large restoration is a crown, which is a full covering over your tooth. For a front tooth, this is often made from porcelain and can appear almost exactly like a natural tooth. One caveat is that restoring a single tooth like this can mean it looks a little different from your adjacent teeth as the colour, tone and hue are almost impossible to match fully, unless you are able to visit the lab technician who will make it. Given your age, it is unlikely a crown would be recommended at this stage as your gum has yet to mature, so the crown would need to be replaced when you are older.
A filling will cost somewhere around $200, whereas a crown would cost anywhere up to $2000. Both of these treatments assume the tooth has no decay and has not had any other problems due to the trauma. If there were other problems, further treament, such as root canal treatment may be required.
Assuming your tooth is otherwise fine and there is enough structure to restore, with no bite problems, I would probably try the bonded restoration first and if it fails repeatedly in a short period, try the crown later.
Best thing to do is see your dentist for a full check up on all your teeth. He or she can then give advice based on your exact circumstaces and outline if there are other teeth that take priority over this problem, which although troubling, you have put up with for a long time. If it really bothers you a lot, it is certainly something you should discuss with a parent or guardian, rather than trying to navigate complex health care on your own. Legally, the dentist will not be able to treat you without your parent/guardian consenting. As you are nearly an adult, medico-legally speaking, any health care practitioner should take your opinion into consideration too.
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