Dentist help! Front teeth chipped yet again - fill or file?

[AbbyCadabby]

Hi,

After a small accident two years ago where both my top front teeth got a tiny chip off the bottom, I have had them filled every few months as they go every now and then after a knock (I have a boisterous four year old).
One's just gone again - am wondering if I would be better off just getting them filed down once and for all, rather than trips to the dentist every few months. Would that be a final solution, or present new issues?
Anyone got any experience/advice? Any negatives to filing? I suggested it to the dentist last time, they hadn't suggested it up til then. She said it was up to me. So here I am again, and thinking I should have them both filed.

Bump!

How big is the chip?

Filing down won't look good unless it's a tiny chip- say half a millimetre - and the answer could be to have a better type of filling.

I'm a dentist. Can you post a photo? Ideally one where your have your front top and bottom teeth edge to edge.

Thanks for responses. Chip is tiny, but I am aware of it.

Rubbish photo, trying hard to take another one but need to leave in 20 mins!

Hope this works:

Slightly better photo?

I chipped both my front teeth. Initially they were filled in with composite . Needed replacing every few months. I then had veneers. They lasted longer but eventually cracked - I think I grind my teeth.I now have porcelain crowns and they are fab.

So all in all lots of options other than filing down!

I think it looks quite endearing as it is- not too bad at all.

I would Definitely NOT crown that! It's tiny which is probably one of the reasons it keeps failing.

I had to really study every single tooth in both pictures before I could even see it.

In fact, I would give my right arm to have teeth like yours.

As above- great teeth.
Just leave it - anything you have done to it will make it more obvious.

I have a chip but it's 1/3rd of a tooth at the front and is filled with composite and gold posts behind. I refused a crown and in fact was advised not to have it as it would destroy a pretty sound tooth.

If you have it filed down that tooth will be shorter than the other one which will be worse IMO and a more obvious 'fault'.

Ah - just logged in on computer to see picture. Please ignore my advice and listen to the experts! Your chip is tiny - much smaller than mine were.

I'm back. If it were my tooth I would leave it as it is. If it's sharp then have it smoothed a little. Smoothing it might make it less noticeable. Your fillings are not sticking because a) the chip is so tiny there is insufficient surface area for the material to bond to. B) I suspect that the location of it means that the filling occasionally catches the bottom tooth. Albeit only slightly.

FGS DO NOT GET THIS TOOTH CROWNED OR VENEERED. PLEASE!!! It's worse that sledge hammer to crack a nut. It's wrecking ball and ball dozer to shell a pea. There will be so much unnecessary serious damage. LEAVE IT!!!

It really l is not noticeable.

I have exactly the same thing

My DH is a dentist and he had banned me from asking him to treat it again as I was literally going in every two weeks to get composite stuck on and it kept falling off as the chip was so tiny

It felt huge to me but he smoothed it very slightly at the back as I think it was slightly rough and i couldn't stop touching it with my tongue. Now I don't notice it all

He also said that he wouldn't do anything else to it either - ie veneers or crowns - and basically I would stop noticing it.

He's sitting beside me actually and had a very quick squizz at your photos says that if anyone offers to crown it etc, run out of the surgery!

Oh - I seem to have cross posted with Bonzo!

Thank you all so much for the feedback, and especially the comments about my teeth being nice. Aw, thrilled!!! I am not sure about 'endearing', pinkfrocks, but thanks!

I had my appointment before I saw the replies, and I don't have Internet on my phone, and I've only just gotten home.
She did smooth it a little, and a teeny tiny bit of my other front tooth so that they are more even.

The fillings have actually stayed pretty well in general - they have survived eating things like carrots - it's only when I get a bump from the four-year old (who has now been told only rough-housing with his father from now on!) that the fillings come off. He caused the accident in the first place too! They didn't tell me the effect of children on my teeth!!!