Quick answer: A chipped tooth is usually fixed with a tooth-coloured filling. A cracked tooth often needs a crown, and a root canal as well if the crack reaches the nerve. A tooth split below the gum line usually has to be removed. Sharp pain when you release a bite is the classic sign of a crack.
A piece of supari, a bone hidden in the mutton curry, an ice cube crunched without thinking. Most broken teeth in our clinics begin with one bite, and the patient feels a small crack, or nothing at all.
What comes next is confusing. A chipped front tooth is obvious and painless. A cracked back tooth can look perfect and still send a sharp jolt every time you chew on that side, then go quiet for days. People put up with that for months because they cannot find anything wrong when they look.
Below is how to tell what kind of break you have, which ones are urgent, and how each one is repaired.
Chipped, Cracked or Broken: The 5 Types
The American Association of Endodontists sorts tooth cracks into five types. Where the crack runs decides whether the tooth can be saved.
| Type | What it is | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Craze lines | Fine surface lines in the enamel only, common in adults | None needed, polishing if they bother you |
| Fractured cusp | A corner of a back tooth breaks off, often beside a big filling | New filling or a crown |
| Cracked tooth | A crack running from the biting surface down towards the root | Crown, plus root canal if the nerve is involved |
| Split tooth | A crack that has divided the tooth into separate pieces | Usually extraction, sometimes part can be saved |
| Vertical root fracture | A crack that starts in the root and runs upward | Usually extraction |
A chip on a front tooth from a fall or a knock is a separate case. It is usually limited to the enamel and the layer under it, and it is often the easiest to fix.
Signs of a Cracked Tooth
Cracks are hard to find. They are often too fine to see in the mouth and do not show up on a normal X-ray. The pattern of the pain is the main clue:
- A sharp, brief pain when you bite, and especially when you release the bite
- Pain that comes and goes rather than a constant ache
- Sensitivity to cold, and sometimes to sweet food
- You can feel the pain but cannot point to exactly which tooth
- Swelling of the gum next to one tooth, if the crack has let infection in
The pain on release happens because biting pushes the two halves of the crack apart slightly, and letting go snaps them back together, pinching the nerve. To find the tooth, your dentist may ask you to bite on a small stick one cusp at a time, and may shine a bright light through the tooth to show the line.
What Breaks Teeth
- Biting hard things: supari, bones, ice, hard sweets, pen caps, bottle tops
- Grinding or clenching at night, which loads the teeth for hours
- Large old fillings that leave thin walls of tooth around them
- Teeth that have had a root canal but no crown, since they become more brittle
- Falls, road accidents and sports knocks, usually to the front teeth
The fourth one catches a lot of people. A back tooth with a root canal and no crown is one of the most common teeth we see split. Our article on whether you need a crown after root canal treatment explains why.
What to Do Right After a Tooth Breaks
- Keep any broken piece. A clean fragment from a front tooth can sometimes be bonded back on. Store it in milk or in a little of your own saliva, not tap water, and bring it with you.
- Rinse with warm water and press gauze on any bleeding for ten minutes.
- Cover a sharp edge with sugar-free chewing gum or dental wax so it does not cut your tongue.
- Chew on the other side and avoid very hot, cold or hard food.
- See a dentist within a day or two, sooner if the pink or red centre of the tooth is showing, or if there is a lot of pain or swelling.
How Each Break Is Repaired
Small chip. Tooth-coloured composite is bonded and shaped to rebuild the missing edge in one visit. A front-tooth chip is often fixed in under an hour.
Larger break or fractured cusp. If much of the tooth is gone, a filling alone will not hold. The tooth is built up and covered with a crown that holds it together like a cap. Our zirconia crowns are the usual choice for strength and appearance, and our comparison of PFM, zirconia and metal crowns explains the difference in cost and lifespan.
Crack that reaches the nerve. If the nerve is inflamed or infected, root canal treatment comes first, then a crown. Left alone, this kind of crack can turn into an abscess. Our guide to dental abscess describes what that looks like.
Split tooth or root fracture. When the crack runs below the gum line or splits the root, the tooth usually cannot be saved and is removed. The gap is then replaced, most often with a dental implant.
Why Waiting Costs More
A crack does not heal. Each time you chew, it can creep a little deeper. Caught early, a cracked tooth may need only a crown. If the crack reaches the nerve, the same tooth needs a root canal as well, and once it splits below the gum, extraction and an implant. The price climbs at every step, from a few thousand rupees for a filling to tens of thousands for an implant.
So if one tooth keeps giving you a sharp twinge when you chew, get it looked at even if it seems fine between twinges.
Broken Tooth Repair Cost in Kolkata
| Treatment | Starting price |
|---|---|
| Composite (tooth-coloured) filling | From INR 800 |
| Composite build-up | From INR 1,500 |
| Metal crown | From INR 3,000 |
| PFM (porcelain fused to metal) crown | From INR 5,000 |
| Zirconia crown | From INR 9,500 |
| Root canal treatment | From INR 5,000 per tooth |
| Dental implant | From INR 35,000 |
Every figure is a starting price at our branches in New Town, Chinar Park, Ballygunge, Dunlop and Charnock. The exact plan and cost are confirmed after the tooth is examined.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a cracked tooth heal on its own?
No, teeth cannot repair cracks, and most cracks slowly get deeper with chewing.
Is a chipped tooth an emergency?
Not usually, but see a dentist within a day or two, or sooner if there is pain or the centre shows.
How is a broken front tooth fixed?
Usually with tooth-coloured composite bonding in one visit, or a crown if a large part is missing.
Why does my tooth hurt when I stop biting?
Pain on releasing a bite is the classic sign of a cracked tooth.
Does a cracked tooth always need a root canal?
No, only when the crack reaches the nerve, and many cracked teeth need just a crown.
Can a split tooth be saved?
Usually not if the split runs below the gum, so it is removed and replaced with an implant.
How much does broken tooth repair cost in Kolkata?
Composite fillings start at INR 800, crowns at INR 3,000 and root canals at INR 5,000.
Chipped or Cracked a Tooth?
Early repair is simpler and cheaper. Message us to book at any of our 5 Kolkata branches.
Book Consultation NowWritten and medically reviewed by Dr. Sanket Chakraverty, B.D.S., M.D.S. (Prosthodontics and Implantology). Prices are starting prices for 2026 and are confirmed after an examination. This article is general information and does not replace a consultation.
