You’re minding your business, crunching ice or a jawbreaker, and suddenly there’s a hard chunk in your mouth that isn’t melting—yep, that’s tooth. Take a breath. Enamel is tough, but a bad bite on something hard, a face-plant on a sidewalk, or an already weak tooth can chip or crack. The playbook is simple: protect the area, call your dentist, and let them sort the fix.

First aid until you’re in the chair

• If it aches, use acetaminophen or an OTC pain reliever you tolerate, and rinse with warm salt water.
• If there’s a sharp edge, cover it with orthodontic wax or sugarless gum so you don’t slice your tongue or cheek.
• Stick to soft foods and chew on the other side.
• Call your dentist ASAP—delays can turn a clean repair into an infection or even a root canal.

How dentists repair chips and breaks

Small chip (enamel only): bonding or a tiny filling
For a front-tooth nick, your dentist can place tooth-colored composite in one visit. They’ll lightly etch the enamel, add adhesive, sculpt the resin to match your shape, then cure it with a blue light. No numbing in many cases, and you walk out selfie-ready.

Medium fracture or big chunk missing: onlay or crown
When the tooth lost serious structure, you’ll likely need a cap. This is where the material talk happens—what are zirconia crowns versus other options, and which one fits your bite and budget. Your dentist may rebuild core structure first, then scan or impress for the final.

Deep break or the top sheared off: root canal + post + crown
If the nerve’s involved or the entire top is gone but the root is solid, an endodontist cleans the canal, places a post, builds the core, and your dentist caps it after. Feels like a lot, but it saves the tooth in many cases.

Crown materials in real life (so you can compare)

• Full-contour zirconia (monolithic): the “tank” crown—great for molars, grinders, and folks who’ve cracked porcelain before. Polished right, it’s kind to the opposing tooth. This is the usual winner when people ask zirconia crown vs porcelain for back teeth.
• Layered zirconia: zirconia core with porcelain stacked for extra translucency in the smile zone.
• Lithium disilicate (e.g., e.max): gorgeous esthetics for front teeth and premolars; not the best for heavy biters on back molars.
• PFM (porcelain-fused-to-metal): strong and time-tested, but can show a gray line at the gum.

A quick word on zirconia crowns disadvantages you’ll want to discuss: some blocks are less translucent than high-end glass ceramics, bonding requires the right primers/cements, and any rough spot must be polished to avoid wearing on the opposing tooth. Your dentist and lab handle these details when they plan your bite.

What the appointment looks like

1. Prep & scan: numb the tooth, smooth damaged edges, rebuild if needed, then scan or take impressions. You’ll leave with a temporary.
2. Lab magic: CAD/CAM design and milling for a precise fit; shade and shape matched to neighbors.
3. Seat day: try-in, bite check, polish, cement, done.

Money talk without the mystery

The zirconia crowns price varies by city, lab quality, and case complexity, but most offices will quote a range upfront and tell you what’s included (temporary, custom shade, night guard). If you’re comparing options, ask for an apples-to-apples line item so the zirconia dental crown price doesn’t surprise you later.

Pro tips to protect the repair

Wear a night guard if you clench, keep the edges clean with floss and a soft brush, don’t chew ice or use teeth as tools, and keep your hygiene visits. If you chip something again, save the fragment and call—tiny breaks are often a quick fix, bigger ones may need a crown zirconia vs porcelain conversation based on where the tooth sits and how hard you chew.

The second crown visit (the “final fit” day)

On visit two—usually about 2–3 weeks after the prep—your dentist pops off the temporary, cleans things up, and test-drives the permanent crown. They’ll check the bite, contacts, and margins, then lock it in with cement once everything feels right. If anything’s off, it goes back for a tweak instead of forcing a bad fit.

Same-day crown tech (no goopy trays)

Plenty of U.S. practices now run CAD/CAM gear that mills a same-day crown in-house. Instead of a putty tray, an intraoral scanner grabs a digital dental impression, your doc designs the crown on-screen, and a ceramic or zirconia block gets milled and baked while you scroll your phone. You leave with the final crown—no temp, no second visit.

Front tooth chipped? Veneer time

If the break is on a smile tooth, a dental veneer can bring it back to “nothing happened.” The dentist gently trims the front surface (about a third to just over a millimeter of enamel), scans or impressions the tooth, and the lab builds a thin porcelain or composite shell. At seat, they etch the enamel, place a bonding cement, position the veneer, and cure it with a light so it sets fast and snug.

When a break hits the nerve: root canal therapy

If the chip or fracture exposes the pulp, bacteria can move in—classic signs are lingering pain, heat sensitivity, or the tooth getting darker. Root canal therapy removes the damaged pulp, cleans the canal, and seals it. Most folks say it feels like a long filling. Because the tooth is weaker afterward, your dentist usually tops it with a crown to keep it from splitting later.

Knocked-out or badly broken: fast-action playbook

• Find the tooth/fragment and handle the crown only. Skip touching the root. If it’s dirty, give it a brief rinse in lukewarm water—no scrubbing or alcohol.
• Try to reinsert a permanent tooth into the socket and bite on gauze. If that’s a no-go, store it in cold milk or tuck it between cheek and gum so it doesn’t dry out.
• Control bleeding with clean gauze; for swelling, use a cool compress. Kids can suck on an ice pop. OTC pain relievers help if you can take them.
• Get help immediately. Reimplantation works best inside 30 minutes. If there’s serious injury or the person’s out cold, call 911. For chipped or broken teeth that aren’t knocked out, call your dentist the same day.