Broken Tooth Emergency: What to Do Before You See a Dentist

Rinse the mouth gently with warm water, and save any fragment you can find in milk or saline. Use a cold compress on the outside of the cheek to limit swelling, and control bleeding with light pressure from clean gauze. Avoid chewing on that side and arrange a dental appointment as soon as possible.

A minor chip with no pain is usually urgent rather than an emergency, but it still needs attention. Chipped enamel leaves a rough edge that can cut the tongue and a weakened area where decay starts more easily. Pain, sensitivity, or a visible pink or red spot in the break means faster care is needed.

Treatment depends on how much tooth is lost and whether the nerve is involved. Small chips are often smoothed or rebuilt with tooth coloured bonding. Larger fractures usually need a crown to hold the tooth together. If the break reaches the pulp, root canal therapy generally comes first, and severe splits may need extraction.

Many can be. Whether a tooth is savable depends on how far the fracture extends below the gum and whether enough sound structure remains to support a restoration. Breaks that stop above the gum line are usually restorable, while those splitting the root vertically often are not. Prompt assessment improves the odds considerably.