Sharp edges can cut the tongue, and the fracture line collects bacteria. Same day if it is uncomfortable, within a day or two if it is not.
Call (203) 869-2884Broken tooth
Broken tooth in Greenwich, CT: painless does not mean stable
Whether a small corner came away or a whole cusp broke off, the exposed inner tooth begins absorbing bacteria quickly. A broken tooth without pain is still something to have us look at soon.
How urgent is it?
Same day
Sharp edges can cut the tongue, and the fracture line collects bacteria. Same day if it is uncomfortable, within a day or two if it is not.
Opening hours
Mon–Tue 8a–7p · Wed–Thu 8a–5p · Fri 9a–2p
What this usually means
The causes we see most often
01
A large old filling giving way
A tooth held together by a wide, older filling has thin remaining walls. One of those walls eventually gives out, often on something perfectly ordinary.
02
Biting something unexpectedly hard
An olive pit, an ice cube, a popcorn kernel. Usually the tooth was already somewhat weakened beforehand.
03
Grinding at night
Teeth ground down over years lose the enamel that once spread the load evenly, and then they break in daylight for no obvious reason.
What to do right now
Before you get here
- 01
Keep the fragment if you have it, stored in milk or saline. Occasionally a front-tooth piece can be bonded back into place.
- 02
Rinse with warm salt water, and cover a sharp edge with a piece of sugar-free chewing gum until we can see you.
- 03
Eat on the other side and avoid anything very hot or cold, since the layer beneath the enamel is now exposed and sensitive.
- 04
Please do not chew on the broken tooth, and do not try to file the edge down yourself.
What we would do
At the appointment
We determine how deep the break goes: enamel only, into the softer layer beneath, or all the way to the nerve. That finding decides whether you need a filling, a crown, or root canal treatment first.
A front-tooth chip is often rebuilt by hand in a single visit with bonding, matched to your shade in daylight.
A broken back tooth usually needs a crown to hold the remaining walls together. We take the impression the same day and protect the tooth while your restoration is made.
How we fix it
The treatments this usually leads to
Q & A
What patients ask us about this
It really should not wait. The inner layer of a tooth is porous, so a painless break can quietly turn into a painful one, or into a root canal case. Seen early, most broken teeth need only a filling or a crown.
Yes, and we check the shade in daylight rather than under the treatment light, which flatters every tooth. Dr. Yeterian handles most of our cosmetic bonding for exactly this reason.
Only if the break runs below the gum and into the root. That is why we examine it properly rather than guess, and we will tell you plainly if a tooth is not a good candidate for restoration.
Where we are
211 East Putnam Avenue, Suite 2-6, Cos Cob
Minutes from central Greenwich on East Putnam Avenue, with parking at the building.
Patients travel to us from
Describe it in your own words when you call. We will tell you whether it needs us today.