When you head out to your family's Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy some delicious turkey and other traditional holiday fare, you never expect for the meal to result in a chipped tooth. However, if you bite down on your drumstick or wing and hit bone, you may end up with just that. The question then becomes what you should do in order to deal with and remedy your chipped tooth. Before you panic and assume that your smile is ruined forever and your tooth will never look or feel the way it should again, get to know some of the options available to you to deal with your chipped tooth and repair your smile to its former glory.

Have Your Tooth Examined And The Chip Filed Down

When your tooth chips or breaks, it can be difficult for you to assess the damage and get a clear picture of what actually happened to your tooth. And even if it doesn't seem like a big deal, once a tooth has sustained damage, it can easily become more damaged and have other issues because its integrity has been compromised.

As such, you will want to head to the dentist as soon as possible to have them take a look at the tooth. They will do a visual assessment of the damage and may take x-rays as well to see if the root of the tooth has also been compromised. If the damage is superficial only, your cosmetic dentist can simply file down the chip to smooth out the edges and keep your tooth from being a problem for you when eating or drinking.

Get Your Tooth Capped

If your chipped tooth is significantly smaller or shorter than the rest of your teeth, or the damage is aesthetically obvious in other ways, you may find yourself worried about the impression your chipped tooth will make on people when they see or meet you. And you may not like your own reflection in the mirror either.

Should this be the case with the tooth your chipped at Thanksgiving dinner, you can get your damaged tooth capped. A cap is also known as a dental crown. This is a dental prosthesis that will cover up the damaged tooth if it is structurally weak and will make it more aesthetically appealing.

It is made of a resin composite that is strong and adheres to what is left of the damaged tooth. Because it is designed to look like the rest of your teeth, nobody will ever even be able to tell that you chipped your tooth over Thanksgiving.

Now that you know a few of the steps you can take if you chipped your tooth at Thanksgiving dinner, you can be sure to take care of your tooth and get the help you need to restore your smile.