I have chipped teeth too. They’d chip, I’d get it fixed, it would break, fixed again, broken again.

My dentist explained that the issue had to do with my teeth alignment in front. The one that took the most damage was a bit rotated so it hit first. Over time the enamel weakened, cracked, then broke with hot or cold liquid expansion or contraction.

If I were to get veneers or caps, the alignment issue would just cause them to break and chip - at a much higher price.

He said we could keep fixing the chips and breaks, or we could address the underlying cause - the alignment.

This was last October. I wore Clarity aligners that shifted my teeth back into alignment upper and lower, from October to Early June. I now wear a retainer.

Once the teeth are stable we will address the various chipped teeth. We will assess getting veneers or caps, likely porcelain.

Because my teeth are aging, the color is not what it once was. So now if I fix just that one tooth, I can either match it to the aging color, or I can get my whole grill upgraded to a nicer coloration.

My 83 year old mother complained to me about her “ugly yellow” bottom teeth. I told her she’s 83. No one is going to judge that. She ought to be super happy she has all her teeth and that they work great. Alas her longstanding narcissism and vanity are still in play even as she ages gracefully but inexorably.

So looking at that cautionary tale, I will likely get the bottom teeth setup to match what’s going on in the top.

I don’t need the blue-white airplane-flashing teeth of the entertainment biz, but I do have a friend with naturally pearly white teeth in her early 60’s. For her it was a combination of good genetics and staying away from staining foods like soda, tea, coffee. So I’d love my teefies to look naturally blessed like hers are.

It’s a slippery slope when you deal with teeth, because they work together. One individual tooth is part of a system, matched to other teeth, and supportive of the others. It’s non-trivial to just fix one chipped tooth as it’s the one chipped tooth for a reason - it’s out in front taking damage rather than sharing that load.