Broken front tooth

A broken front tooth almost always wants to be seen the same day. Even a small chip can be a bigger problem underneath — a hairline fracture running deeper, an exposed nerve that hasn’t started hurting yet, or a sharp edge that will catch on the tongue and lip for a week before you give in and come in.

The first ten minutes

1. Save the fragment if you can find it. Rinse gently, put it in milk or saliva, and bring it in. A re-bonded original fragment is the closest match possible.
2. Rinse your mouth with warm water. Spit out anything loose.
3. Stop bleeding, if there is any, with gauze pressed firmly against the area for ten minutes.
4. Cover sharp edges with sugar-free gum or dental wax (any pharmacy stocks it) until you’re seen.
5. Call. 212-382-3782. Tell us a front tooth is broken and roughly how much.

What we do when you arrive

First we look. A small chip with no symptoms is usually composite bonding — same-visit, no anesthesia needed in most cases, sculpted to match the rest of the smile and polished. The repair is reversible. It lasts five to ten years on average.

A break that exposes the nerve — visible pink, red, or sensitivity to cold and air — is treated with a temporary pulp dressing today and either a root canal or a longer-term restoration over the following days. The order depends on what the X-ray shows.

A larger break that takes too much of the visible tooth is usually a porcelain case: a veneer if the break is on the facial surface, an onlay or crown if the back of the tooth is involved. Same-day porcelain is an option when the case allows; otherwise it’s a two-visit lab-made piece with a temporary in between.

If you have the fragment

Bring it. The original tooth, re-bonded, is sometimes the most aesthetic option there is — better than composite, sometimes better than porcelain. The bond is at the fracture line; the bulk of the tooth is still your enamel, your translucency, your wear pattern. It doesn’t work in every case, but when it does, it’s a quiet repair no one notices.

What it usually costs

Composite bonding for a small chip is the most conservative and the most affordable option. Re-bonding an original fragment, when possible, is similarly conservative. Porcelain restorations (veneer, onlay, or crown) are a larger investment but last decades. A written estimate is given at the consultation, before any work is scheduled.

Other emergencies: knocked-out tooth · lost crown or filling · all emergencies.