Hi,

My 9-year-old son has a severely chipped front tooth. It is almost broken in half. We had it fixed, but the repair broke off a week later. The root is not damaged, just the tooth. I am wondering if the Snap-On Smile will work for him until he is old enough to have it capped.
– Janelle from Boston

Janelle,

This is a rare instance in which the Snap-On Smile is not a good choice.

First, by doing a Snap-On Smile you are still leaving him with a tooth that is broken. The Snap-On Smile will only fix the cosmetic issues, not the problems he will have with bite. You need to have a competent dentist fix this tooth permanently, either with porcelain or composite. And, this must be done in such a way that it doesn’t get in the way of his bite.

Aside from the dental issues, there are three main concerns when it comes to doing a Snap-On Smile for a young child:
1. Because it is worn over the teeth it will be bulky.
2. Young children are likely to lose the appliance and these are significantly more expensive than, say, a retainer.
3. At age 9, your son is in what is known as a mixed dentition stage, meaning he has both baby teeth and permanent teeth, with the permanent teeth still coming in. As a result, the fit of something like a Snap-On Smile is going to change,  maybe as often as every couple of months. The appliance may also get in the way of erupting teeth.

I would be most concerned about finding a different dentist to do the tooth repair. The first repair did not break off because of anything related to your son’s age; it broke because it got in the way of his bite and was improperly done.

I would seek out the services of a qualified cosmetic dentist—something with specific training and experience in cosmetic dental bonding—to do a permanent repair of this tooth. That may cost more than the average dental procedure, but likely less than the Snap-On Smile would have.

You can learn more about cosmetic dentistry on our main website: Lowell Cosmetic Dentistry.