Have you ever chipped a tooth? Don’t feel bad, chipped teeth are a common cosmetic repair that we see in our practice.

The reasons for a chipped tooth range from accidents to people who grind their teeth so severely they cause breakage How we repair the damage depends on the size and location of the chip, which tooth is chipped and the overall oral health of the patient.

Options for repairing a chipped tooth include bonding or dental veneers. For a tooth that is badly chipped or cracked a full dental crown may be needed.

For smaller chips dental bonding may be sufficient. A tooth colored restoration material is bonded to the damaged surface and carefully sculpted to look just like your original tooth. The technique has some advantages and is less expensive but it is also subject to staining and may not last as long as a dental veneer.

Dental veneers are thin pieces of ceramic material that are created in a dental lab. They are matched to your tooth color and provide a very lifelike appearance. The dental veneers are bonded to your natural teeth and allow for the correction of chipped, discolored or misshapen teeth.

If you have chipped a tooth please contact Rothfus Family Dental in Medford, OR today at 541-858-7994 to discuss your treatment options.

Like the commercial says “There’s an app for that…” and we’ve found some apps to smile about. Usually you don’t think of smartphones and smiles – unless you are using your phone to take a photo of a smile…

While the apps discussed here are available for iPhones there are similar apps available for other Android and Google phones.

You know that you are supposed to brush  for two minutes every morning and at night – but do you time it? There are apps that will time you while you brush your teeth – using songs from your own playlist (Brush DJ). There are apps about flossing. The Philips Zoom virtual whitening app lets you to take a picture of your smile and shows how you would look with whiter teeth and then share the photo on Facebook or Twitter. These are both free apps and the Brush DJ would be really good for kids. Give us a call about your whitening appointment!

Dental Care HD is not free, but at 99 cents it gives tutorials on brushing, flossing, contains sections about dental problems and even gives nutritional information for optimal oral health. Sounds like it could be worth the money!

Rothfus Family Dental is happy to be a part of the Medford, OR community and we invite you to “Like” us on facebook. Please contact us today at 541-858-7994 to schedule your next visit.