Chipped Tooth — Small Breaks That Can Grow
A small chip is usually a same-week visit unless it is painful.
What is happening?
A chip is a small loss of enamel, often from a minor knock, biting a pen or a nail, acid wear from diet or reflux, grinding, or thin enamel at an edge.
Same-day care
Common symptoms
- A rough edge your tongue keeps finding
- A small visible notch
- Mild sensitivity, or none
- Usually no deep pain
Is it urgent?
Pain, not just roughness — call sooner. A chip on a front tooth you want smoothed before an event — same week is realistic. A chip that is only cosmetic and stable — still book, because small chips can become cracks.
Until the chip is smoothed
Save a fragment
If you have the piece, bring it. We may or may not be able to use it.
Cover the edge
Pharmacy dental wax over a sharp spot, and avoid very hard foods on that side.
Book this week
A chip left alone can extend into a crack. This is usually not a middle-of-the-night emergency unless it hurts.
Common causes
Minor trauma · Biting pens, nails, or hard objects · Enamel thinned by acid erosion from diet or reflux · Grinding · Edge wear on thin enamel
How we diagnose it
We check whether the chip is only enamel or whether dentin or the nerve is involved. That difference decides polishing, bonding, or a larger restoration. We also look at the bite, because a high edge chips again.
How we treat it
Smooth or bond
Many small chips are polished or rebuilt with bonded composite so the edge feels like a tooth again.
Watch the cause
If acid or grinding made the enamel thin, repairing the chip without mentioning that cause just sets up the next chip.
Case examples
See before-and-after cases for this type of treatment. Individual results vary.
See example results →Related pages
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Still have a question? Our team is happy to help over the phone.
(416) 483-0000Is a small chip urgent?
Usually it is a same-week visit. Call the same day if the edge is cutting you or the tooth hurts, not only if it looks uneven.
Will a chip spread?
It can. Enamel does not heal closed. A bonded edge or a polish stops the tongue-catch and lets us see if a crack is starting.
Can you match the colour?
Bonding is shade-matched to the neighbouring enamel. Very visible front teeth sometimes look better with a lab-made restoration — we say so if that is the case.
Read this as education
These are common patterns, not a diagnosis of your tooth. Your dentist determines the cause during an examination.