my teeth are chipped crooked and have yellow buildup

Q. Hi, I have a question about treatment for a problem with my lower teeth - the four between the incisors on the lower jaw. They’ve always been crooked, all of them are twisted in the same direction. I always brush twice a day at least, however, I still have had problems. Whilst brushing I felt a piece of what felt like tooth come out. I checked and I noticed a yellow buildup all along the inside of them 4 teeth. And the tooth which part of came away from now feels broken from the bottom of it and sharp. It feels as if the lower quarter of the tooth has just come off. Also, the yellow deposits will not brush off at all. I have no idea why I have these as I always brush a minimum of twice a day. perhaps it’s because the crookedness stops the brush from reaching there. My question was two-fold:

1) What can be done for the tooth which has been chipped away?

2) What is the yellow buildup on the teeth?

3) As a long term solution, can braces be used to straighten the teeth and to ensure that there aren’t any nooks for nasty stuff to build up in?

4) What would be the cost of such treatment?

5) How much of a tooth has to chip off before there’s a risk of it falling out?..

Thanks very much for your time.

A. 1) The tooth that has chipped away can easily be fixed with white filling or a porcelain veneer.
2) The yellow build up on your teeth is tartar. It is hardened plaque and is very difficult to remove by brushing alone. All adults get a build of tartar even though they brush their teeth. For you it is harder because your teeth are crowded. You need to see a hygienist to remove the tartar. All of my patients see the hygienist every 3-6 months to make sure tartar build up is removed and the gums don’t become inflammed. It is a very simple treatment and can take from 20 mins to 1 hour.
3) braces are a very good, non destructive treatment to correct crowding. However after treatment you will still get tartar build on the backs of the lower front teeth and I would recommend that you see a hygienist at least every six months.
4) Your lower tooth won’t fall out because it has chipped. It can however break off at the gum margin if a lot of force is put on it but by the sound of things your chip seems like it can be fixed easily.
I hope I have been of help
Kind regards
Dr Komal Suri

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This post was published on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 10:44 amand is filed under Dr Suri's Answers, Experts Answers, Q. Broken teeth, Q. Teeth Whitening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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