Broken Tooth, Glasgow: Chipped, Cracked or Broken a Tooth?

Q: Does a chipped tooth need treating if it doesn't hurt?

Usually, yes, and sooner rather than later. A chip exposes softer dentine, which wears and decays faster, and a crack spreads with every bite. A small repair now is far cheaper than a crown or root canal later.

Q: Why does my broken tooth hurt with cold?

The break has exposed dentine, which carries sensation to the nerve. Sealing it with bonding or a filling usually settles it. Pain that lingers for minutes, throbs on its own or wakes you at night suggests the nerve is inflamed and the tooth needs root canal treatment.

Q: Can you save a tooth that's broken at the gum?

Sometimes, with a build-up and a crown, and sometimes not. An X-ray shows whether enough sound root is left above the bone. If it can't be saved, we remove it gently and talk through replacing it: a bridge, a denture or an implant.

Q: I've knocked a tooth out. What should I do?

Hold it by the crown, not the root. Rinse it briefly in milk and push it back into the socket if you can, or keep it in milk. Call us and get seen within the hour: the sooner it's back in place, the better its chance of surviving. Baby teeth should not be put back.

Most broken teeth can be repaired the same day, and almost all of them can be saved if they're seen quickly. Keep any pieces, keep calm, and call us.

Call 0141 248 1183Book a same-day appointment WhatsApp

Emergency appointment £70, registered with us or not, free for dental plan members. Outside our hours, NHS 24 on 111.²

What to Do Now

Before you're seen.

Keep the Pieces

Put any fragment in milk or a little saliva and bring it. A clean break on a front tooth can sometimes be bonded back.

Rinse and Cover the Edge

Rinse with warm water. A sharp edge can be covered with sugar-free chewing gum or orthodontic wax so it doesn't cut your tongue or cheek.

Manage the Pain

Ordinary painkillers as directed on the packet. Avoid very hot, cold or sweet things if the tooth is sensitive, and chew on the other side.

Call Us

Same-day appointments Monday to Friday, registered with us or not. If you've knocked a tooth out completely, that's an emergency within the hour: see our emergencies page.

How We Fix It

It depends on how much tooth is lost and whether the nerve is involved. Your dentist will show you on an X-ray.

Small Chip on a Front Tooth

Reshaped and rebuilt in composite the same day, with little or no drilling: composite bonding from £395.

Broken Corner or Filling

A white filling from £105, or a build-up for a larger loss (£350).

Cracked Back Tooth

A ceramic onlay or crown holds the tooth together before the crack spreads. Onlay £750, crowns from £675.

Nerve Exposed or Painful

Root canal treatment from £450 to settle the pain, then a crown.

Broken Below the Gum

Sometimes a tooth can't be saved. It's removed gently and we plan the replacement, from an immediate denture to an implant.

Chipped Veneer or Bonding

Repaired or remade, and your bite checked so it doesn't happen again; a night guard if grinding is the cause.

Go to A&E or Call 999 If

The injury has knocked you out, or you have a head injury

Bleeding from the mouth won't stop with 20 minutes of firm pressure

Swelling is affecting your breathing, swallowing or your eye

A jaw that may be broken: you can't close your teeth together as usual

Call Us the Same Day If

A tooth is knocked out, loose or pushed out of position

A broken tooth is painful, bleeding from the middle or has a pink spot in it

A large piece has broken off a back tooth

A sharp edge is cutting your tongue or cheek

A crown, veneer or bridge has come off; keep it and bring it

Fees

The emergency appointment is one fee; the permanent fix is quoted in writing before it's done. Prices checked October 2026.²

Emergency appointment, registered or not	£70
Temporary filling	£70
White filling, front tooth	from £105
Composite bonding, per tooth	£395
Ceramic onlay	£750
Ceramic crown, back tooth	from £675
Recement a crown	£70
Root canal treatment	from £450

See every fee

Questions

Saving the tooth, cost and what happens if it can't be saved.

Can a broken tooth be fixed the same day?–

Often, yes. A chip is usually bonded the same day; a larger break gets a filling, a build-up or a temporary while a crown is made. The emergency appointment is £70, and the permanent repair is quoted in writing before it's done.

Does a chipped tooth need treating if it doesn't hurt?+

Why does my broken tooth hurt with cold?+

Can you save a tooth that's broken at the gum?+

I've knocked a tooth out. What should I do?+

Guides

Guides for a Broken Tooth

All general dentistry guides

General dentistry · 6 minute read

Composite Bonding Guide

Broken a Tooth? Call Us

Same-day appointments Monday to Friday for anyone, registered or not. Outside our hours, NHS 24 on 111.

Call 0141 248 1183Book a same-day appointment

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