[mbuchan07]

Hey Everyone.

I'll just tell you the basics then you can answer my questions at the bottom.

Round about October last year (2006), I fell and broke half of one of my front teeth, and a tiny bit on the other front tooth (I looked like a hillybilly) Anyway, I went to the dentist, and he thought that the nerve may be exposed etc, but he would like to X-Ray it and build up the tooth.

A few weeks later, he did just that. So now my front tooth, isn't so bad but it still shorter than the other one. (BTW. Forgot to say, the X-Ray said that the tooth nerve was not damaged so the tooth would not have to come out, PHEW! :p )

Now, I've had this "half-a-tooth" for nearly 6 months I think. And I'm fed up of smiling, because, it just looks, sooo wrong. And people I newly meet always ask about it, and I feel embarrassed.

Im 15 now, and I have two baby teeth left,which the dentist said would have to come out before the front tooth was fixed by crowning (I think that's what he said). So does anyone know, how old you have to be to get a crown? Is it sore? How much is it or is it free from NHS? Any other advice?

Thanks a lot! Sorry I babbbled on for a bit there!

Miranda xoxox

:) :) :) :) :)

[chancy]

Ask the dentist to put a porcelain veneer on it. It only takes about twenty minutes. You will not even notice the difference. You just have to be careful when chewing on that tooth as it will not be as strong as the others. You do not want to get a crown as for that the dentist will have to grind down the rest of the tooth.

[jillianleab]

A veneer is a good idea, but it is usually expensive ($800 or more a tooth in the US). I don't know if NHS will cover it at all.

Your dentist is probably waiting to put the crown on given your age; as we age the bones in our jaw become more solid and less resistant to change. This is why adults have compromised results with certain orthodontic treatments (like expansion). My guess is you will have a more stable result once you are older and your bones are "set". I don't know why he wants to wait for your baby teeth to come out, unless they are impacted somewhere or are next to/near the tooth which will have a crown. Can you phone the office and ask for more information?

Chancy is right, the dentist will have to ground your tooth down to affix the crown, but he would have to rough up the surface of your tooth for a veneer as well. Either way your original tooth with have permanent damage to it.

[Clough]

I know exactly where you're coming from in speaking about chipped teeth, what to do about them and how you feel.

When I was in 5th grade, while riding my bike in the wintertime I slipped on some ice and fell, chipping out good portions of my upper front, middle two teeth.

I'm sure that options of what to do and involving cost were considered between my parents and our dentist. I do remember the dentist saying something about the reasons, because of my age, that he could not put permanent crowns, sometimes also know as "caps" on my teeth.

He ended up putting temporary stainless steal caps on my teeth. They were the color of steel, not teeth. I'm sure you can imagine how I felt. Anyway, I managed living with this for about the next seven years.

I think that I was 17 or 18 when I finally had the permanent porcelain caps put on. Both of the teeth had to be ground down in order to accommodate the caps. I don't think that it was that unpleasant of an experience. I felt no pain, other than the usually, little pain that you get from the shots in the gums to deaden pain.

The caps looked great! But, I now know that they were not the best caps that I could have had, because they both eventually broke, one by one in different instances. That was about 25 years after I had them put on. They were not reinforced. It was probably the best that my parents could afford at the time.

I now have caps that are reinforced inside with steel. They match my other teeth perfectly. I have had accidents in bumping them with hard objects now and then, but no problems with chipping, cracking or breaking. I am sure that they will last me the rest of my life. Where I live, and that would be in the upper Midwest in the U.S. they cost a little over $500.00 each.

There is more information that might be helpful to you in understanding more about this stuff on the following two sites.

What are porcelain veneers, dental veneers, and porcelain laminates?

Porcelain and gold dental crowns ("caps"): What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these types of dental crowns?

[flossie]

Your teeth are still growing. You should wait until you are 18 before having anything permanent done (veneer or crown) or you will have to have it replaced because there is tooth showing between the gum and the crown or veneer. Your dentist should be able to repair the broken tooth to make it look very natural. If he can't do a good job, find another one who can!

[wickedimp]

Hey Everyone.

I'll just tell you the basics then you can answer my questions at the bottom.

Round about October last year (2006), i fell and broke half of one of my front teeth, and a tiny bit on the other front tooth (i looked like a hillybilly) Anyway, i went to the dentist, and he thought that the nerve may be exposed etc, but he would like to X-Ray it and build up the tooth.

A few weeks later, he did just that. So now my front tooth, isn't so bad but it still shorter than the other one. (BTW. forgot to say, the X-Ray said that the tooth nerve was not damaged so the tooth would not have to come out, PHEW!! :p )

Now, I've had this "half-a-tooth" for nearly 6 months i think. And i'm fed up of smiling, because, it just looks, sooo wrong. And people i newly meet always ask about it, and i feel embarrased.

Im 15 now, and i have two baby teeth left,which the dentist said would have to come out before the front tooth was fixed by crowning (i think that's what he said). So does anyone know, how old you have to be to get a crown? Is it sore? How much is it or is it free from NHS? Any other advice?

Thanks alot! Sorry i babbbled on for a bit there!!

Miranda xoxox

:) :) :) :) :)

Hi Miranda,

Having a good smile in your teens is very important so I can really understand why you are so upset about this. Let me just say how sorry I am that this has happened to you.

Having had some quite extensive dental reconstruction myself (years of drug abuse, two motorbike crashes and half a dozen pub brawls) I can tell you that the kind of dentistry you're looking for is VERY expensive. I would suggest you seek a second opinion from another dentist, perhaps one that specialises in dental reconstruction as these professionals will be more highly skilled at giving you a lasting natural look than the drill and fill merchants.

In the meantime I am left wondering why your dentist did not give you a (semi)temporary crown of some description.

On price, I can only give you an idea of what I paid. Your work will be cheaper as mine was done by a top London dentist,

Gold Dental Implants £2200.00 each
Gold Crowns with polymer posts £770.00 each
White filling £50.00

My dentist's details are: Henry Arnold 60 Fleet Street London EC4Y 1JU Tel: 020 7248 3411