Photos show exactly how a dentist fixes a broken tooth using drills, chemicals, and blue light

Marianne Guenot,Jacky BarileJan 13, 2023, 22:12 IST

A before and after view of a tooth-repair procedure, shown on a mannequin.Smile Influencers

Dentistry can save your teeth, but it's difficult to know what's happening when you're in the chair.
A dentist showed Insider what the process can look like from his point of view.

Most of us will need dental work at some point — it's rare to get a proper look at how the process happens.

Insider spoke to Sami Shahhal, a restorative dentist and owner of a dental-educational channel called Smile Influencers, who explained a tooth restoration step by step.

Mending a chipped tooth is a mixture of chemistry and craftsmanship.

These teeth are an artificial set dentists can practice on. A tooth at the front has been chipped.Smile Influencers

The repair starts by smoothing down the surface

A burr is used to smooth down the damaged surface on the chipped tooth and give it a beveled edge.Smile Influencers

He then moves on to protect the neighboring tooth

This still shows how the dentist protects neighboring teeth from damage, by covering them with tape.Smile Influencers

The damaged surface is then covered in "etchant"

The dentist uses a blue liquid called etchant to prep the area for bonding.Smile Influencers

Bonding agent is next

Bonding agent is applied to the tooth.Smile Influencers

Then comes the bright blue LED light.

The blue light helps harden the resin.Smile Influencers

The dentist uses a blue putty as a mold to shape the new tooth

The blue substance in the background is putty molded to the shape of the teeth.Smile Influencers

The chip is replaced with composite resin, in layers.

Resin starts to fill the tooth's gap as the dentist builds back the missing piece.Smile Influencers

As the resin builds up, the dentist uses fine-tipped tools to smooth is out

The dentist uses fined-tipped instruments to smooth out the resin and give it as natural a look as possible.Smile Influencers

The last step is making sure the surface is buttery smooth

The dentist uses a series of disks, one of which is pictured here, to smooth the resin and get rid of any bumps on the tooth.Smile Influencers

Dentists can color-match your teeth with the resin

A montage shows the chipped tooth's appearance before and after the repair.Smile Influencers

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