But Doctor, it is just a small chip on my front tooth!

This is a phrase I hear quite often from patients, and they just want me to fix it. This is not always as simple as putting bonding on the tooth. What I have toinvestigate is how this occurred. Was it due to trauma or other reasons? Often times these chips are due to the occlusion (how the patient bites down) and just placing a bonding back will not solve the problem. It may last a short period of time before it chips again.

I had a new patient in the office a few months ago that had this problem and mentioned to me this has been fixed a few times, but it keeps coming off a few days after. The doctor recommended a veneer, which, in my expert opinion, wouldnt help. If the tooth chips, the veneer will also chip, which would lead to an unhappy patient due to the cost of the veneer and the frustration of having to come back to the office multiple times without a solution to the problem.

This situation raises a red flag to me that there are factors that were not diagnosed. After careful evaluation of his bite, I noticed that the opposing (lower) tooth was hitting directly on this area, which is probably why it chipped in the first place. My solution was to adjust the lower tooth and eliminate any interference that was causing the problem, and then restore the upper tooth.As ofthat bonding is still there.

Many dental problems that are presented can have easy solutions if the situation is evaluated properly. Patients really appreciate this and without question, a happy patient is the BEST way to market your practice.