Chipped front tooth

aninnina

Hello,
I am hoping someone can ease my mind on this matter. I clench my teeth at night it seems and about 4-5 days ago I woke up with pain and numbness in one of my upper front teeth. I hoped it would go away, but by day 2-3 (weekend) it got worse. My bite had changed, I couldn't bite properly or match my teeth. On Sunday I felt like I was going crazy so I decided I would try to find a dentist on Monday to help me out. This was an impossible task as all were sending me to the ER (butcher shop is what that is in Europe) and they were completely booked for a month. I finally begged my dentist to see me and she took me in. She inspected my teeth and she confirmed I had small chips on both corners of both my upper front teeth. Also the low edge of one of the teeth had been scratched down and slightly chipped.
She said the chips are too small to be filled in so she sanded them down a bit, made a cast for a night guard and sent me on my way. If I were to meet and talk to someone they probably would not notice the chips but this thing is driving me mad. I have always been kinda proud of my teeth and this is killing me on the inside.

I am scared to eat or bite anything, even though the doctor assured me I should be fine. The pain is almost gone, I don't have temperature sensitivity but I am absolutely terrified that every time I bite on something remotely hard (toast, fruit, even soft meats or anything that requires slight bites) the teeth will chip more.
:mad:
Any advice? Will this get worse? Can I ever eat normally again?

Thank you.

Toothsmith

This isn't that uncommon a phenomena - people being convinced their bite has changed.

It sounds like your dentist has acted correctly and go on her reassurances. They are most likely fine if she has seen them and says they are. (Obviously I haven't seen them!)

This can sometimes go on to people who drive themselves into the ground looking for a dentist who will diagnose and treat a problem that really doesn't exist. If they're lucky, then they will find dentists who do what your dentist has done. Provide something that will help with the clenching/grinding problem that is the cause of these feelings, and providing reassurance that nothing else is wrong. If people are unlucky, they will find someone who will diagnose some horrendously complex problem that requires loads of unnecessary expensive treatment, that ultimately will do more harm than good.

Be reassured, try not to focus on it too much, and things should calm down.

aninnina

Toothsmith, thank you very much for your reply, it helped me calm down a bit. My teeth seem fine at first glance, the only thing I noticed is the fact that they are slightly thinner (if that makes sense) probably from my doctor sanding them down a bit and are also slightly transparent at the edges. I asked at the pharmacy if there is anything I can do to make them stronger, because my teeth feel kind of sensitive and fragile. Pharmacist said they are probably demineralized and I could try an over the counter tooth gel that could help make them stronger. I am still waiting for my night guard to be ready and I hope until then I won't grind my teeth at night. I know this is not ideal, but I am trying to preserve my actual teeth as long as possible before resorting to any type of treatment (fillings and such).

You are right, my doctor is pretty great, very honest and never tried to do any useless treatment, so I do trust her. It doesn't help that I work from home these days and every time I get a minute free, I go to check my teeth in the mirror, looking for defects. I am sure I found defects I've had for years that seem totally tragic now.

I am pretty careful with my teeth, I use an electric brush, try not to press it on my teeth, I floss daily (interchangeably, airfloss or classic flossing), I use mouthwash everyday... I will now try the remineralization gel once a week and see how that goes. I read online that some doctors can do a treatment 1-2 times a year to restore minerals (usually after whitening, but not only) in the teeth but I haven't heard of such treatment around me. I think I will try to calm down for a while, my teeth have been through enough.

Thanks again!