Emergency dental symptoms
Broken tooth: what to do in the first hour and how it is fixed
A broken tooth ranges from a chip you can live with for a week to a fracture into the nerve that needs seeing today. The depth of the break, and whether it hurts, tell you which you have.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Ibraheem Ijaz, Principal Dentist · GDC 301711 · Last reviewed April 2026
Types of break and what each one means
Enamel is the hardest substance in the body, but it is brittle in the way glass is brittle: it copes with pressure and shatters under a sharp blow or a sudden bite on something unexpected. Under the enamel is dentine, a softer, living layer, and inside that is the pulp, the nerve and blood supply. What you can see and feel tells you how far down the break has gone.
A chip in the enamel.
Into the dentine.
Into the pulp.
A cusp sheared off a filled back tooth.
Cracked but still in one piece.
Broken at or below the gum, or a fractured root.
Is a broken tooth an emergency?
Call today, and a day or two is fine.
Same day.
A&E first.
Looking after a broken tooth until your appointment
- Keep the broken piece if you have it, in a little milk or in a pot with some of your saliva. A clean fragment from a front tooth can sometimes be bonded straight back on, which gives the most natural result of all.
- Rinse with warm water and check for cuts to your tongue and lip. Press damp gauze or a clean tea towel on a bleeding gum for ten minutes.
- Cover a sharp edge with sugar-free chewing gum, orthodontic wax from a chemist, or a temporary filling kit. Do not use superglue; it is toxic to the pulp and makes the repair harder.
- Chew on the other side and avoid hot, cold and sweet on the broken tooth.
- If a big corner has come off a back tooth, do not bite on what is left. The remaining walls are thin and can split down to the root.
- Paracetamol or ibuprofen as directed on the packet if it aches. Do not try to file the edge down yourself.
Our guide to temporary fixes before your appointment has more detail on covering a broken tooth safely.
How a broken tooth is repaired at Deepcar
The emergency examination is £30 including X-rays and takes about 15 minutes. We look at the break under magnification for a pulp exposure, cold-test the tooth to check the nerve is alive, tap it and press on each cusp to find any hidden crack running into what is left, and take a digital X-ray. The X-ray shows how close the break is to the nerve, whether the root is fractured and whether the tooth has been pushed in its socket. Then we agree the repair and its cost in writing, and in most cases do it there and then.
- Small chip. Smoothed and polished, or built up with a little white filling material bonded to the enamel.
- Chipped front tooth or exposed dentine. A layered white filling, shaped and polished to match the neighbouring tooth in one visit. If you have kept the fragment and it fits cleanly, we bond it back instead.
- Broken cusp on a back tooth. A white filling if enough tooth is left. When a whole corner has gone or the tooth is mostly filling already, a crown, because a crown wraps around the tooth and holds it together, whereas a large filling sits inside it and wedges the walls apart with every bite. A temporary crown protects it while the ceramic one is made.
- Exposed nerve. A pinpoint, clean exposure in a young tooth can sometimes be sealed with a protective lining. A larger exposure, or a tooth that already hurts, needs the nerve removed: stage 1 of a root canal that day, completion at a second visit, and usually a crown.
- Broken below the gum or a split root. The tooth cannot be rebuilt and is taken out, then we talk about replacing it with a bridge, denture or dental implant once the socket has healed.
Appointments after 6pm on weekdays and at weekends carry an additional out-of-hours charge. Crowns and root canals can be spread with 0% finance, subject to status; see our finance page.
| Treatment | Fee (from) |
|---|---|
| Emergency examination including X-rays | £30 |
| White filling or bonded repair | £150–£220 |
| Emergency root canal stage 1 | £200 |
| Completed root canal treatment | £450 |
| All-ceramic crown | £750–£1,000 |
| Extraction | £120–£260 |
What happens if you leave a broken tooth
Enamel does not grow back and dentine does not seal itself. Bacteria travel down the open tubules towards the nerve, and a tooth that was merely sensitive becomes a tooth with pulpitis and then an abscess. On a back tooth, the remaining cusps flex under chewing and a small crack runs deeper with every meal, sometimes into the root, where it can no longer be repaired. A tooth that needed a £150 filling in week one may need a root canal and a crown by month three.
Front teeth broken in a knock have a quieter problem. The blow can cut off the blood supply to the nerve without any pain, and the tooth slowly turns grey over the following months. That is why we cold-test a knocked tooth at the first visit and again a few weeks later, even if it feels fine.
Questions, answered
Common questions
Can a broken tooth be fixed in one visit?
Usually, yes. Chips, exposed dentine and most broken cusps are repaired with a bonded white filling at the emergency appointment. Crowns and root canals need a second visit, but the tooth is made comfortable and protected at the first.
Does a broken tooth always hurt?
No. A chip in enamel has no nerve supply and is painless. Pain starts when the break reaches dentine (sensitivity) or the pulp (aching or throbbing). A painless break still needs covering, because bacteria reach the nerve either way.
Can you glue the broken piece of tooth back on?
Often, on front teeth, if the fragment is clean and fits. Keep it in milk or saliva, not water, and do not try to glue it yourself. Household glue damages the tooth and stops the dental bonding from working.
Is a broken tooth an emergency if it does not hurt?
Not a same-day emergency, but it should be seen within a few days. A sharp edge cuts the tongue, exposed dentine lets bacteria in, and a weakened back tooth can split further while you wait.
How much does it cost to fix a broken tooth?
The examination is £30 including X-rays. A bonded white filling is £150–£220, a crown £750–£1,000, and root canal treatment from £450. You get the price in writing before we start.
In pain? Don’t wait
Same-day emergency appointments, seven days a week.
£30 emergency examination including X-rays. Call now and a real person answers, or grab a slot online.
334 Manchester Road, Deepcar, Sheffield S36 2RH · Free parking