It's a little questionable asking dental advice from the horn list, given that you have already consulted your dentist, who has the advantage of being an expert and also has had a chance to examine the injury. But here goes:
The fact that you do not use much pressure probably lessens any effect a small change in tooth contour will have on your embouchure (because there is less contact between embouchure andn teeth). I believe that a rough edge on a chipped tooth should be smoothed, since the rough edge may increase the chance of decay or other further damage. There are at least two ways to do a more aggressive tooth repair that can restore the original contour of the tooth. In a "veneer" procedure the tooth is ground down to a stub. (Painless, but frightning to a brass player.) Then a mold is taken of the stub and sent off to a high-tech fabrication lab (takes a week or so) and a veneer is created out of composite or porcelain that can be placed with high precision on the stub, and with the desired external shape and color to match the original tooth and its neighbors. The molding is so precise that the veneer and stub are together very strong -- no gaps -- as strong as the oriinal tooth. Although they can be damaged just an original tooth can be damaged, veneers are considered permanent. They are also very expensive. A much simpler and less costly procedure is "dental bonding." The dentist can bond a glob of special epoxy where the tooth is damaged. The epoxy is hardened with UV and then the epoxy is shaped back to the desired contour with a regular dental grinding drill. This procedure is also usually pain free and is done in a single appointment. Bonding is not as permanent as veneer, but lasts many years unless it is in a place that gets extreme pressure. Bonding can easily be repeated with no further damage to the tooth. But depending on the location of the chip, in order to achieve a shape that will allow a robust bonding it might be necessary to do more filing to the original tooth than merely smoothing the rough edge would require. Again, you should discuss these things with your dentist. _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
