A chipped front tooth is one of the most common things we fix, and one of the quickest. Most chips are rebuilt with composite bonding in a single visit, keeping your own tooth.
BeforeAfterA chipped front tooth, rebuilt with composite bonding. Treated at Jordanhill. Individual outcomes vary.
£220Bonding per tooth, from
£48Consultation, taken off your treatment cost
1 visitFor most chips, after a consultation
4.9★★★★★500+ Google reviews
What we see
Which kind of chip is yours?
Teeth chip on a fork, a bottle, a fall, a hard sweet, or simply over years of grinding. The right repair depends on how much tooth has gone and whether it hurts, and your dentist will tell you which applies at the consultation.
A small corner off a front toothThe most common chip, and the easiest to fix. Composite resin is sculpted onto the tooth to rebuild the corner, matched to the colour of the tooth around it, usually in one visit.
A rough or jagged edgeA chip that catches your tongue or lip but has not taken much tooth away can often be smoothed and reshaped, or built back up with a thin layer of bonding so the edge sits level with its neighbours.
A larger breakWhen a bigger piece has gone, bonding may not be strong enough on its own. A white filling, an onlay or a crown rebuilds the tooth so it can take the force of biting again.
A chip that is sensitive or painfulSensitivity to cold usually means the softer layer under the enamel is exposed and needs covering soon. Pain that lingers needs looking at before the tooth is rebuilt, so tell us when you book.
An old repair that has chipped againBonding or a filling done years ago that has worn, stained or broken at the edge can be repaired or replaced, often without touching the tooth underneath.
Chipped a tooth and it hurts? Call the practice on 0141 334 2550 and tell us it is painful.
Before and after
Chipped edges, rebuilt
No stock images and no models. This is a patient treated in this practice, photographed before and after.
BeforeAfterChipped and worn edges, rebuilt
Several chipped and worn upper edges built back up with bonding, so the smile line sits level again.
Individual outcomes vary; your dentist can show you similar cases at your consultation.
Choosing the right repair
Bonding, filling or crown?
Three ways to put a chipped tooth right, for three sizes of damage. The consultation tells you which the tooth needs; for most chips it is the simplest one.
Composite bonding
Tooth-coloured resin sculpted onto the tooth to rebuild the missing corner or edge. For small and medium chips on front teeth. Usually one visit, usually no drilling and no anaesthetic, and nothing permanent is done to the tooth. From £220.
The same resin, used where a chip on a back tooth or a larger break has exposed the softer layer underneath. The damaged area is cleaned and filled in one visit so the tooth is sealed and comfortable again. From £110.
For a tooth that has lost too much structure for bonding or a filling to hold, or that has cracked. A ceramic crown is made in the laboratory over two visits, from £504. A hybrid ceramic onlay, which covers only the broken part, is made here in the practice and usually fitted in a single visit.
For most chips the repair is composite bonding, completed in a single visit. Here is what happens, step by step.
Radhika and a patient seeing her new smile for the first time.
1ConsultationYour dentist looks at the chip, checks the tooth is healthy and not sensitive, and confirms bonding is the right repair. You leave knowing the cost. Nothing is done on the day unless you want it to be.
2PreparationLittle to no drilling. The chipped surface is gently roughened and conditioned so the resin bonds to it. For most people no anaesthetic is needed.
3RebuildingTooth-coloured resin, matched to the shade of your own tooth, is sculpted onto the chip in thin layers and shaped by hand until the corner or edge matches the tooth next to it.
4FinishingEach layer is hardened with a curing light, then the repair is trimmed, checked against your bite and polished so the join is hard to see.
You can eat and drink normally the same day. We review the repair with you before you leave, and you are welcome to come back if anything feels high or catches.
Nervous about the dentist? There is usually no injection and no drilling; you set the pace and can stop at any point by raising a hand.
The £48 consultation is taken off the cost of your treatment if you go ahead. It is not refunded if you decide not to proceed, or if treatment turns out not to be suitable for you.
What moves the price
How much tooth has to be rebuilt. A small corner on one front tooth sits at the lower end of the bonding range. A larger break that needs a filling, an onlay or a crown is priced as that treatment, and your dentist will tell you which the tooth needs before anything begins.
Bonding is added to the surface of your own tooth rather than cut into it, so it does not permanently alter the tooth underneath, and it can be repaired or refreshed in years to come if the edge chips again.
…helped restore my composite bonding from previous dentist and made me smile ready for my wedding. Such a friendly and welcoming practice
★★★★★Jess
Chipped tooth FAQs
Your questions, answered
Anything we have not covered, ask at your consultation or call the practice on 0141 334 2550.
Almost always, yes. A small or medium chip on a front tooth is rebuilt with composite bonding, usually in a single visit. A larger break is restored with a white filling, an onlay or a crown. Even a tooth that has broken badly can usually be saved, so it is worth being seen before assuming the worst.
At Dentistry @ Jordanhill, composite bonding to rebuild a chip costs from £220 per tooth, with a £48 consultation first that is taken off the cost of treatment if you go ahead. A white filling is from £110 and a crown from £504, if the break is too large for bonding. You know the exact cost before anything begins.
Not usually, if it does not hurt. A chip that is sensitive to cold, painful to bite on, or that has left a sharp edge cutting your tongue or lip should be seen sooner, so call the practice and tell us. If you are in a lot of pain, or your face is swelling, treat it as urgent: call us during opening hours, and outside them seek urgent medical care.
The resin is chosen against your own tooth on the day and built up in layers, so the repaired corner matches the colour and translucency of the tooth around it. Once polished, the join is hard to see at normal speaking distance. If you are thinking about whitening, have it first: the resin is matched to your teeth as they are and will not lighten afterwards.
Bonding a chip is usually painless and most people need no anaesthetic, because the tooth surface is only lightly prepared and nothing is drilled away. If the chip has exposed the sensitive layer under the enamel, the tooth can be numbed first so the repair is comfortable.
Typically 3–7 years depending on care, and often longer. Bonding on a biting edge takes more force than bonding elsewhere, so the habits below matter. If a repair chips or wears years later it can usually be refreshed or replaced without touching the tooth underneath.
Avoid biting ice, pens, nails and bottle tops, and do not use your front teeth to tear packaging. If you grind or clench at night, a night guard protects the repair and your other teeth. Keep up your check-ups so the edge of the repair is checked and polished.
Back teeth take far more biting force, so a chipped molar is usually restored with a white filling or, where a cusp has broken off, an onlay or crown rather than bonding. The repair is just as tooth-coloured; it is simply made to withstand chewing.
No. The consultation can be booked online by anyone, whether or not you have been to us before. If you have chipped a tooth and it hurts, call the practice and say so when you ring.
Find us in the West End
Find us on Crow Road
454 Crow Road, Glasgow G11 7DR
Next to Jordanhill train station, on bus routes, with parking close by. Ground-floor surgery with disabled access at the front of the practice. Opening hours are in the footer below.
Book a £48 consultation, taken off your treatment cost if you go ahead. Your dentist will look at the chip, tell you plainly what it needs, and for most chips rebuild it in one visit.
Dentistry @ JordanhillWest End of Glasgow
