Keep the fragment, in milk — a broken corner of a front tooth can sometimes be bonded straight back on, and it will always look better than anything we can build.
Then, in order of cost: bonding from $350 in a single visit; a veneer from $1,400 if the chip is large or you want to change the tooth as well as repair it; a crown if too much of the tooth has gone to support anything less.
Do this first
- Find the fragment. Put it in milk, or in saline. Not water, and not a dry tissue.
- Rinse your mouth with warm water.
- Cold compress on the outside of the lip or cheek if there is swelling.
- Cover a sharp edge — sugar-free gum or orthodontic wax will stop it shredding your tongue.
- Call (203) 372-0881 the same day.
Come in even if it does not hurt. A chip that gives you no pain today can expose dentine, and the nerve underneath can become inflamed over the following weeks. It is far cheaper to seal it now than to root-canal it in a month.
The two questions that decide everything
How much is missing? A small corner is a different problem from half the tooth.
Is the nerve exposed? If you can see a pink or red dot in the middle of the break, or if it is exquisitely painful to air and cold, the nerve is exposed or very close. That is urgent — it can often be treated and saved if you are seen quickly, and it may become a root canal if you are not.
Everything else follows from those two answers.
Option 1 — Reattaching the fragment
If you have it and it is in reasonable condition, it can often be bonded back on.
It is the best possible result, because it is your own tooth: the exact colour, the exact translucency, the exact wear pattern. Nothing we make matches that.
It costs about what bonding costs. It is not always possible, and the bond line can be visible. But it is worth asking for, and it is worth ten seconds of looking on the floor for the piece.
Option 2 — Bonding, $350 to $750
The right answer for most chips.
Composite resin is applied to the tooth, sculpted by hand, hardened with a light, then trimmed and polished until it disappears. One visit, usually under an hour, and frequently no anaesthetic at all, because on a simple chip there is nothing to drill.
Nothing is removed. On a simple repair it is essentially reversible.
The trade: it lasts five to eight years, it stains at the margins over time, and it can chip again. It can also be repaired and repolished, cheaply. For a chipped corner, this is almost always the honest answer, and a dentist who steers you straight to a veneer for one small chip is worth a second opinion.
Option 3 — A veneer, $1,400 to $2,500
Worth it when the chip is large, when the tooth was already the wrong shape or colour, or when you want a result that will not need touching for fifteen years.
But read this part. A veneer requires removing a thin layer of enamel, and enamel does not grow back. From that day, the tooth will always need a veneer or a crown on it — for life, including the replacements you will pay for in fifteen years and again in thirty.
For one small chip, that is a large permanent commitment to solve a small temporary problem.
Option 4 — A crown, $1,300 to $2,200
When too much of the tooth is gone for anything to bond to reliably, or when the tooth has cracked rather than chipped, or when it has needed a root canal.
A crown wraps the whole tooth and holds it together. It is the most destructive option and sometimes it is the only honest one.
What insurance pays
Here is a distinction worth knowing. If the chip is the result of damage — a fall, a knock, biting something hard — many plans treat the repair as restorative and contribute toward it.
If it is purely about appearance, it is cosmetic, and they will not.
Tell us how it happened. It genuinely matters to your insurer, and it is not a detail we can invent for you.
Questions people ask
Will the repair be noticeable?
Done well, no. Matching a single front tooth is one of the hardest things in dentistry — it must match the neighbour in colour, translucency, texture and the way it catches light. This is craft, and it is where the time goes.
How long will bonding last on a front tooth?
NEEDS SIGN-OFF K-18 Claims about the practice — Custom mouthguards / night guards from a scan. Approve as written, or give the correction.
Five to eight years typically. Less if you bite your nails, chew ice, or grind. If you grind, get a night guard — it is the single biggest factor.
Can I whiten first?
Yes, and you should, if you were going to. Whiten, wait a fortnight for the shade to settle, then match the repair to the new colour. Do it the other way round and the repair will be the wrong shade the moment you bleach.
My tooth chipped and now it aches. Is that bad?
It means the nerve is irritated. Be seen promptly — it may settle, and it may not.
It chipped a year ago and I ignored it. Is it too late?
No. Come in. It is very often still a simple bonding.
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Chipped it today? Call (203) 372-0881 — bonding is often a same-day appointment. Dental bonding in Bridgeport.
Educational, not a diagnosis.
