A chipped tooth can almost always be repaired, and the right fix depends on how much tooth structure you’ve lost. Small chips that only affect the outer enamel layer can be smoothed down or filled in a single office visit. Larger chips that expose deeper layers of the tooth may need a crown or, in some cases, a root canal before restoration. Here’s what to do right now and what to expect from each type of repair.
What to Do Right After You Chip a Tooth
If you can find the broken piece, save it. Place it in a small container with milk or your own saliva. Don’t wrap it in tissue or cloth, and don’t scrub it clean. Handle it by the top (the white part you can normally see) rather than the root. A dentist may be able to bond the original fragment back onto your tooth, which gives the most natural-looking result.
Rinse your mouth gently with warm water. If the chipped edge feels sharp against your tongue or cheek, you can cover it temporarily with sugar-free gum or dental wax from a pharmacy. Over-the-counter pain relievers and a cold compress on the outside of your cheek will manage any swelling. Call your dentist as soon as possible, even if the chip seems minor, because cracks can extend deeper than they appear.
How Chip Severity Changes the Treatment
Dentists classify tooth fractures into three levels based on which layers of the tooth are involved, and each level narrows down your treatment options.
Enamel-only chips are the most common and least urgent. You’ll see minor chipping with rough edges but typically feel no pain. These can be smoothed down or repaired with bonding.
Chips that reach the dentin (the yellowish layer beneath enamel) are more sensitive. You’ll likely notice pain when the tooth is touched and sensitivity to air. These usually need bonding or a veneer to seal the exposed dentin and prevent bacteria from moving deeper.
Chips that expose the pulp (the innermost tissue containing nerves and blood vessels) cause significant pain with temperature changes, air, and pressure. Pain that lingers for 30 seconds or more after contact with something hot, cold, or sweet is a hallmark sign. If bacteria reach the pulp through a crack, the tissue can become irreversibly inflamed or eventually die. At that point, a root canal is necessary to remove the damaged tissue before the tooth can be restored with a crown.
Smoothing a Tiny Chip
For very small chips where the edge is rough but no real tooth structure is missing, your dentist may simply smooth the area down. This procedure, called cosmetic contouring or enameloplasty, takes about 30 minutes. Your dentist uses a small rotating tool and fine abrasive strips to reshape the enamel, then checks your bite and polishes the tooth. Because enamel has no nerves, you won’t need numbing. There’s no recovery time.
The catch: this only works when the chip is superficial and the underlying tooth is healthy. Removing enamel from a tooth that already has cavities or cracks can cause irreversible damage. And you should never try to file a chipped tooth yourself at home. DIY filing risks weakening the tooth structure and creating sensitivity, cracks, or infection.
Dental Bonding for Small to Medium Chips
Bonding is the most common fix for chipped teeth. Your dentist applies a tooth-colored composite resin, a putty-like material that gets molded directly onto the tooth and hardened with a curing light. The whole process typically takes one visit. Your dentist matches the resin color to your natural teeth using a shade guide, roughens the tooth surface so the material adheres, sculpts the resin to rebuild the missing portion, hardens it with ultraviolet light, then polishes it smooth.
Bonding costs between $250 and $600 per tooth in 2025, though complex repairs or multiple teeth can push the cost closer to $1,000. The material lasts roughly 5 to 10 years before it needs touch-up or replacement. It’s not as durable as porcelain, so it works best on teeth that don’t bear heavy chewing forces, like front teeth with small to moderate chips.
Veneers for Front Teeth
When a front tooth has a larger chip or you want the most natural, long-lasting cosmetic result, a porcelain veneer is often the better option. A veneer is a thin shell custom-made to cover the entire front surface of the tooth. It requires removing a small amount of enamel so the veneer sits flush, and it typically takes two appointments: one for preparation and impressions, one for placement.
Porcelain veneers cost $900 to $2,500 per tooth but last significantly longer than bonding. Studies show porcelain veneers last 10 years or more in the vast majority of cases, with some lasting 20 years. Composite veneers (made from the same resin used in bonding, but shaped like a veneer) are cheaper and last around 5 years or more.
Crowns for Larger Breaks
A crown caps the entire visible portion of the tooth and is the go-to option when a chip is large enough to compromise the tooth’s structural integrity. You’ll likely need a crown if the chipped tooth already had a large filling, if the crack extends below the gumline, or if decay has developed around the fracture. Crowns are also placed after a root canal to protect the treated tooth.
Crowns cost $700 to $3,500 per tooth depending on the material (porcelain, ceramic, metal, or a combination). The process usually takes two visits: the first to reshape the tooth and take impressions, the second to cement the permanent crown. Some dental offices with milling technology can complete a crown in a single appointment.
When a Root Canal Comes First
Not every chipped tooth needs a root canal, but deep fractures that expose or damage the pulp do. The warning signs include sharp or throbbing pain that lingers well after the trigger is gone, spontaneous pain without any stimulus, or swelling near the affected tooth. In some cases, the nerve dies quietly and the first sign is a darkening of the tooth or pain only when pressure is applied.
During a root canal, the dentist removes the damaged pulp tissue, cleans out the interior canals, then fills and seals them. The tooth is then rebuilt with a crown. Left untreated, an infected pulp can spread bacteria to surrounding bone and tissue, turning a fixable chip into a much bigger problem.
Making Your Repair Last
Bonding, veneers, and crowns all hold up well with basic care, but the repair material is never quite as tough as natural enamel. Avoid biting directly into hard foods with a repaired front tooth. Use the teeth on the sides of your mouth for things like apples, carrots, and crusty bread. Don’t use your teeth to open packaging or chew on ice, pens, or fingernails.
Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and clean between your teeth daily with floss or a water flosser. Composite resin can stain over time from coffee, tea, red wine, and tobacco, so regular dental cleanings help keep bonded teeth looking matched to your natural ones. If you grind your teeth at night, ask your dentist about a nightguard. Grinding is one of the most common reasons bonding and veneers fail prematurely, and it can re-fracture a previously chipped tooth.