A cracked or broken tooth is often treated as an urgent dental problem, especially if you have pain, bleeding, swelling, or a sharp edge cutting your tongue or cheek. Many cracks worsen over time and can let bacteria reach the inner part of the tooth. Call a dentist promptly to be seen. If you have severe swelling, trouble breathing, or a fever, seek emergency medical care right away.
Broken or cracked tooth. How serious is it, and what to do.
Most broken teeth are fixable, and a calm next step usually settles it. This page helps you tell how serious yours is and what to do today.
Why this matters
This page received a dental billing and coverage review for how it describes coverage and costs. The clinical information follows standard guidance.
This page is educational and is not medical advice or a diagnosis. A crack can be invisible and hard to find, so only a dentist can confirm the cause with an exam. For pain with spreading swelling, fever, or trouble breathing or swallowing, call emergency services or go to a hospital emergency room. Costs are estimates, not a quote. CoverCapy is a patient first dental insurance concierge and PPO dentist network, not an insurance carrier.
How serious is it
How serious is my broken tooth?
Quick answer
A small chip with no pain is usually minor and can wait a few days. A bigger break or a sharp edge should be seen soon. A crack that hurts on biting or to hot and cold may need a crown, and if it reaches the nerve, a root canal first. A deep split or a crack with swelling or a bad taste needs prompt care. Teeth do not heal on their own, so a crack will not close by itself.
Red flag, please read
Pain with spreading swelling, a fever, or any trouble breathing or swallowing is a sign to seek urgent or emergency care right away. Do not wait for a routine visit.
Pick the one that sounds most like you. This is guidance, not a diagnosis.
Until you are seen
What to do for a broken tooth.
Save any pieces that come off and keep them in a clean container, ideally in a little milk, since the dentist may be able to use them. Rinse gently with warm water, and if a jagged edge is cutting your tongue or cheek, cover it with dental wax or sugar-free gum to protect the soft tissue. A cold compress on the outside of the cheek eases pain and swelling. Avoid chewing on that side and steer clear of very hot, cold, or hard foods. An over the counter pain reliever you normally tolerate can help, used as directed on the label, and never place a tablet directly against the gum, since it can burn the tissue.
Hard to find
Why a crack can be tricky to pin down.
A cracked tooth is one of the harder problems to diagnose, even for a dentist. A crack can be too thin to see, and it often does not show up on a standard X-ray because it runs in the same direction the X-ray travels. Many cracks hurt only at certain moments, classically a quick jolt of pain when you release a bite rather than when you press down, which is why people often cannot tell which tooth or even which side is the problem. Dentists sometimes call the vague, hard-to-locate version cracked tooth syndrome. To track it down, a dentist may have you bite on a small test tool one tooth at a time, use a bright light, check how the tooth responds to cold, and sometimes use magnification or 3D imaging. Because a crack can quietly let bacteria reach the nerve over time, repeated bite pain is worth an exam even when nothing looks broken.
At the dentist
How a dentist treats a cracked tooth.
The fix depends on how deep the crack runs. A small chip may be smoothed or bonded. A larger break or a true crack often needs a crown that caps the tooth and stops the flexing that causes pain. If the crack has reached the nerve, a root canal usually comes first, then a crown. A crack that splits the root often means the tooth cannot be saved, and the plan moves to an extraction, sometimes with a bone graft to keep the space for a future implant. The exam and X-ray are usually covered at or near 100 percent with a plan, and a plan that pays toward major work shares part of a crown or root canal. See coverage that can start fast.
Questions
Cracked tooth questions.
Save any broken pieces and place them in milk or a clean container. Rinse your mouth gently with warm water to clean the area, then use a cold compress on the outside of your cheek to limit swelling. If a sharp edge is irritating your mouth, you can cover it with dental wax, and try not to chew on that side. Contact a dentist as soon as possible.
No. Teeth do not heal or regrow the way skin or bone can, so a crack will not close or repair itself over time. The damage tends to stay the same or get worse, and a small crack can deepen with normal chewing. A dentist needs to evaluate and treat it to protect the tooth.
Treatment depends on how deep the crack is and which part of the tooth is affected. A dentist may smooth a small chip, place a filling or bonding, or fit a crown to hold a more damaged tooth together. If the crack reaches the inner pulp, root canal treatment may be needed, and a tooth that is cracked below the gum line may need to be removed. Your dentist will examine the tooth and explain the options.
Pain when biting or releasing pressure is a common sign of a cracked tooth, sometimes called cracked tooth syndrome. The crack can flex under pressure and irritate the inner tissue, which may also cause sensitivity to hot, cold, or sweet foods. The pain can come and go, which makes these cracks tricky to pinpoint. A dentist can test the tooth to find the source and recommend treatment.
Costs vary widely by treatment, your location, and your dental coverage, so the following are general estimates only and not a quote. As a rough range, bonding for a small chip may run about 100 to 600 dollars per tooth, a crown often falls in the range of about 1,000 to 1,800 dollars, and root canal treatment plus a crown can total more. Ask your dentist for a written estimate, and check your PPO plan, since coverage can lower your out of pocket cost.