Symptoms, explained
A chipped or broken tooth: more can be saved than you think
It’s a horrible moment — the crunch, the loose piece in your mouth, the tongue that won’t stop checking. Take a breath. A break usually feels far bigger to your tongue than it looks in the mirror, and most breaks are very fixable.
This page can’t diagnose you. A chip that looks tiny can run deep, and a break that looks dramatic can be surface-only — and an old filling, hidden decay or a crack may have set it up. The tests in the chair — a proper look, a gentle tap, an X-ray — make the call. You’re not expected to know what’s causing it. That’s our job.
The good news up front: most broken teeth can be rebuilt — and even badly broken ones usually have more options than people expect.
Toothache right now? We keep same-day slots — and we answer.
Call nowA small chip — rough edge, but no pain
Your tongue will find a chip a hundred times a day, which makes it feel huge. If nothing hurts and nothing zings with cold, there’s no emergency — this is the gentlest end of dentistry:
- Often we simply smooth and polish the rough edge, and that’s that.
- If the chip shows when you smile, we rebuild the corner with tooth-coloured filling material.
- Kept the piece? Bring it along — sometimes we can bond it straight back on.
What you should do
Book a routine appointment in the next week or two. If the spot turns sensitive to cold or air before then, contact us sooner — that changes the picture.
A bigger chip that’s sensitive to cold or air
If a chip stings with cold air, cold drinks or sweet things, the break has gone through the hard outer enamel into the softer layer underneath — dentine — which sits much closer to the nerve. That’s why the tooth is suddenly so touchy.
This one shouldn’t wait weeks. The exposed layer needs covering — for comfort now, and to protect the nerve underneath:
- First, a protective covering goes over the exposed layer — think of it as a bandage for the tooth. This usually calms things down quickly.
- Then the tooth is properly rebuilt with a white filling.
- If a big piece is missing, a filling alone may not be strong enough — a cover that caps the tooth (an onlay or crown) protects what’s left.
What you should do
Contact us today if you can — same-day cover is usually possible, and it protects the nerve. Until then, go easy on that side: nothing too hot, too cold or too sweet.
A corner broke off a tooth with a filling in it
Teeth with big fillings break more often — the filling holds, but the natural wall of tooth around it finally gives way, often on something as innocent as bread. It feels dramatic. It’s also one of the most common breaks we see, and very fixable.
The repair runs gentlest-first:
- The missing corner is rebuilt with a strong filling core.
- Then a protective cover goes on top — an onlay (covers the biting surface) or a crown (caps the whole tooth) — to protect the remaining walls from flexing and cracking further.
- If the break runs deep enough to involve the nerve, the tooth usually needs root canal treatment first, then the cover.(from R3,500)
What you should do
Book within the next few days and chew on the other side until then. A broken tooth left unprotected can break further — and the deeper the break, the fewer the options.
A filling fell out, or a crown came off
This usually happens years after the work was done — and somehow at the worst possible moment. Don’t panic, and if it’s a crown, don’t throw it away.
- A crown that came off: if it’s intact, clean and still fits snugly, we can often simply cement it back on. If it no longer fits properly, forcing it back isn’t safe — the tooth needs a new one made.
- A lost filling: the space is cleaned up and refilled. If the tooth keeps breaking around its fillings, we’ll talk honestly about a stronger cover instead.
One caution: sometimes a crown comes off because the tooth underneath it has broken or decayed. If that’s the case, we’re in “can it be saved?” territory — the next section — and we’ll walk you through it honestly.
What you should do
Contact us within a day or two, and keep the crown somewhere safe and clean. Chew on the other side until we’ve seen you.
A badly broken tooth — can it still be saved?
Sometimes a tooth breaks right down near the gum, and the honest question is: can this still be saved? We’d rather answer that straight than talk you into heroics. The answer depends on what’s left — not on how dramatic it looks.
In the chair, we check a few plain things: is there enough solid tooth left above the gum for a crown to grip onto; is the root free of cracks; is the bone and gum holding the tooth healthy; and does this tooth matter enough in your bite to justify the work. When those line up, rebuilding usually looks like this:
- If the nerve is involved: root canal treatment first, so the rebuilt tooth is healthy on the inside.(from R3,500)
- A new core is built up — sometimes anchored with a small post inside the root — and a crown caps and protects the lot.
- If there’s genuinely too little left — the break or decay runs too far below the gum — then extraction, with an honest conversation about what, if anything, should replace the tooth.
Borderline cases sometimes have a rescue: a minor procedure that exposes a little more solid tooth above the gum, or gently easing the root upward, so a crown has something to grip. We’ll tell you plainly whether either is worth it in your case.
And if extraction is the answer, that isn’t defeat. Rebuilding a tooth that can’t hold is the worse deal — taking it out and planning a proper replacement is often the most sensible, most conservative choice overall.
What you should do
Book an assessment and bring your questions. You’ll leave knowing exactly what’s left, what it needs, and what it will cost — before anything is done.
Go to an emergency department NOW — don’t wait for us — if you have: difficulty swallowing or breathing, swelling under the tongue or into the neck, an eye swelling shut, or fast-spreading facial swelling with fever. If the tooth broke in a fall or a blow: any sign of a head injury, or a jaw that won’t close or line up properly, means hospital first — teeth second. And a whole adult tooth knocked right out is time-critical: get emergency care immediately.
What it costs
Every price above is a genuine “starting from” for the straightforward case. We quote before we treat — always. If you’re on a medical aid, we claim directly: you pay only co-payments and anything your plan doesn’t cover or has already used up.
On a medical aid? See what your scheme’s published benefits say — and we confirm with a benefit check before treatment.
Not sure which pattern is yours?
Tell us what you’re feeling — we’ll take it from there.