emergency dentistry
Broken or cracked tooth: protect it, then call.
First: rinse your mouth with warm water and find the pieces. Put them in milk and bring them — fragments can sometimes be bonded back. Then call 434-823-4080 and describe what you see; how much it hurts tells us a lot about how deep it goes.
Until you're seen
Cover a sharp edge with drugstore dental wax or sugar-free gum — your tongue will thank you. Chew on the other side. Skip very hot, very cold, and anything hard.
Pain and swelling: cold compress outside the cheek, ibuprofen per the label. Bleeding from the gum: gentle pressure with clean gauze for ten minutes.
No pain at all? Still call. A crack without pain is a crack with a head start — caught early it's often a small repair; ignored, it grows until the options shrink.
How broken teeth get fixed
Small chips: bonding, usually one visit. Bigger breaks: a crown to cap and protect what remains. A crack that has reached the nerve adds a root canal before the crown; a break below the gumline is the one that sometimes can't be saved — and if that's yours, you'll hear it straight, along with the replacement path.
Which one you need depends on depth, and depth is what the exam and X-ray establish. You'll see what we see, with each option priced before anything starts.
Questions we hear in the chair
- My tooth cracked but nothing fell off. Is that better?
- Sometimes it's quieter, not better — cracks propagate under chewing force like a windshield chip in July. Zigzag pain when biting, or wincing on release, points to a crack that's flexing. Prompt visit either way.
- Can you reattach the broken piece?
- Sometimes, if it's clean, intact, and recent — which is why it rides in milk to the appointment. When it can't be reused, bonding rebuilds the shape so well you'll stop telling the story.
- I broke a molar eating popcorn. Common?
- Extremely — popcorn kernels, ice, and olive pits are the big three, usually finding a tooth already weakened by a large old filling. The fix protects the whole tooth, not just the corner that lost.
- How fast do I need to be seen?
- Pain, sharp edges, or a visible pink or red spot in the break (that's near or at the nerve): today. A painless small chip: within a few days. Call either way and we'll make the call together.
Clinical content reviewed by Dr. Marissa DeAngelis, Senior Dentist.
Serving Crozet for 50+ years. At least two full-time doctors in the building, Monday through Friday. Call for current availability.