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My 8 year old daughter chipped one of her front teeth a few weeks ago. I took her to the dentists and they said the tooth was alive and that we should leave it like that until she is about 13-16 years old and then it can be repaired. Why cant it be repaired now with bonding? Is there an age limit for bonding? Are her front teeth still growing? Why cant she have her teeth bonded even if its only good for 5 years?

Thank you for visiting our web site and for your question. Since I have not seen your daughter's tooth, I can not diagnose the situation, but I can think of a couple reasons why your dentist elected not to treat the tooth. If the fracture is very small, a bonded filling may not be strong enough to hold. In such situations, recontouring of the tooth may be a better option, but is not advisable until the permanent teeth have positioned themselves in their permanent positions. Also, a bonded filling may make your daughter's tooth more susceptible to cavities as the filling wears down. This is generally not a problem, however, if a child has good oral hygiene AND is coming in for regular dental visits. On the other hand, your dentist may have mistakenly given you the impression that a filling should not be done, when he/she simply meant to save you some money and/or time. Whatever the reason, I suggest you speak with your dentist and let him/her know that you would like to proceed with a bonded filling, even if it is simply for cosmetic purposes. I hope this helps!

 

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