Chipped or cracked a tooth?

Teeth are tough, but they meet their match in popcorn kernels, olive pits, ice cubes, and the occasional elbow. The good news: most chips and cracks are very fixable, often in a single visit — and the right repair depends on how deep the damage goes, not on how dramatic it looks.

How chips and cracks happen

• Biting something hard — ice, kernels, pits, hard candy
• Falls and impacts — sports, accidents, kids being kids
• Grinding and clenching, which fatigue enamel over time
• Large old fillings that leave the surrounding tooth walls thin
• Normal wear on edges that thins enamel with age

Matching the repair to the damage

A small chip on an edge or corner is usually a same-day dental bonding repair — tooth-colored resin sculpted and polished to match, typically $250–$800 per tooth at our office fees. A larger break that weakens the tooth typically calls for a porcelain crown ($1,260–$1,540 office fee; many insured patients pay $170–$580). A front tooth where appearance is everything may be a candidate for a porcelain veneer. And if a crack runs below the gumline or into the root, we'll talk honestly about extraction and replacement — but only after confirming nothing less will work. Conservative first is how this practice has operated since 1945.

Is it an emergency?

If the tooth hurts, the chip left a sharp edge cutting your tongue or cheek, or a piece of the tooth broke off with bleeding, call 512-472-5633 for a same-day visit. A painless cosmetic chip can wait a few days — but cover any sharp edge with dental wax or sugar-free gum in the meantime, and save any broken piece in milk or saliva.

Content reviewed by Jamisen Kohlman, DMD — KoLa Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, Austin, TX.