Broken Tooth Repair in Ladson, SC
How a broken tooth is repaired depends almost entirely on how much of it is gone and whether the nerve is exposed.
Right now
What to do before you get here
Save the pieces
Keep any fragments in milk or saline. Sometimes a broken piece can be bonded back on, particularly with front teeth.
Rinse and control bleeding
Rinse gently with warm water. If the gum is bleeding, apply firm pressure with clean gauze for ten minutes.
Protect your tongue
A sharp edge will cut your tongue and cheek. Cover it with dental wax or a piece of sugar-free chewing gum.
Call us
Ring (843) 970-3799. An exposed nerve is painful and time-sensitive, so say so when you call.
Treatment depends on severity
How breaks are repaired
Minor chip, enamel only
Smoothing the edge, or bonding composite to rebuild the shape. Often one visit, frequently without numbing.
Learn moreLarger break into dentine
A larger bonded restoration, or a crown where too much structure has gone for a filling to hold.
Learn moreBreak exposing the nerve
Root canal therapy followed by a crown. This is the painful category and needs prompt attention.
Learn moreBreak below the gumline
Sometimes restorable, sometimes not. If the root is split vertically, extraction and replacement is usually the only option.
Learn moreWhy teeth break
It is rarely the thing you bit into
Most broken teeth are not caused by the popcorn kernel that finally did it. They break because the tooth was already compromised and the kernel was simply the last load it took.
The most common underlying cause is a large existing filling. A filling sits inside the tooth like a wedge, and every bite drives it fractionally outward against the remaining walls. Past a certain size, those walls are thin enough that one eventually gives way. This is why we recommend a crown rather than a bigger filling once a tooth reaches that point: a crown holds the walls together instead of pushing them apart.
The other frequent cause is grinding. Sustained clenching applies forces well beyond normal chewing, for hours at a time, and it fatigues the tooth structure. If you break teeth repeatedly, the fix is not better repairs. It is a night guard, because otherwise the next restoration is on the same trajectory as the last one.
What we look at beyond the break
When a tooth breaks we check the wear pattern across the rest of your mouth and how your bite meets. A tooth that fractured because it is taking more load than the teeth either side will do it again once repaired, unless the bite is adjusted.
Common questions
Questions we hear most
Is a broken tooth an emergency?
If the nerve is exposed, you are in significant pain, or there is bleeding that will not stop, yes. A small chip with no pain is urgent but not same-day. Either way it should be seen soon, because exposed dentine lets bacteria in and a rough edge damages soft tissue.
Can a broken piece be glued back on?
Sometimes, particularly with a clean fracture of a front tooth where the fragment has been kept moist. It is worth bringing it. If it cannot be reattached, composite bonding can rebuild the shape very convincingly.
Why does my broken tooth not hurt?
If the break is confined to enamel, there are no nerve endings there, so it will not hurt. That does not mean it needs no treatment, since the exposed surface is now vulnerable to decay and the tooth is structurally weaker.
What if I broke a tooth that already had a large filling?
That is the most common scenario. A tooth with a large filling has thin remaining walls, and one of them eventually gives way. Repair typically means a crown rather than another filling, because there is no longer enough structure to hold one.
Can a broken tooth be saved?
Usually, unless the fracture extends well below the gumline or splits the root vertically. Dr. Mathew will assess with an x-ray and tell you honestly whether it is restorable or whether extraction and replacement is the more sensible course.
How much does it cost to fix?
It depends on the treatment: bonding is at the lower end, a crown considerably more, and a root canal plus crown more again. We will examine, explain the options, and give you the cost before doing anything.
Do not wait it out
In pain today? Call us now
We keep time open for same-day emergency appointments, for new and existing patients.