What To Do If You Break A Tooth Or Have A Dental Injury

Chipping, cracking, or breaking a tooth can be very painful. Teeth can be damaged in many ways, causing damage from slight to extensive depending on the condition of your teeth and the type of injury.

Generally, no matter the injury, your best course of action will be to make an emergency appointment with your dentist. In the meantime, mitigate any further problems by relieving pain and protecting the dental injury.

What Do I Do If I Break A Tooth?

Promptly rinse your mouth with warm water to clean the affected area. Apply pressure to assist in stopping any bleeding, and place cold compression on the area to reduce swelling.

If you can find the piece of broken tooth, wrap it in wet gauze and bring it to the dentist.

What Do I Do If I Lose A Tooth?

If you end up losing a tooth completely, place it in a saline solution or water and try to get to the dentist as quickly as possible. Your dentist will be able to you help you with fixing this issue as well as assisting you with any pain you may be experiencing.

How Do I Manage The Pain From My Dental Injury?

As soon as your injury occurs, flush the inside of your mouth with warm water to clean the area and apply cold compression to the outside area of the injury as quickly as possible to keep down the swelling.

If pain does not subside you can take over-the-counter pain relievers and anti-inflammatories. However, do not take more than the recommended dosage.

Another option is to apply clove oil to the area. The oil contains eugenol which is a numbing agent with anti-inflammatory properties.

How Do I Protect My Mouth Until I Can See A Dentist?

If your tooth has a sharp edge caused by a break, apply dental wax over the jagged edge to keep it from cutting your tongue or the inside of your mouth. Many drugstores carry over-the-counter temporary kits that will contain dental wax.

Do not chew on the side of your mouth with the damaged tooth to help prevent further irritation.

If you require an emergency appointment due to a dental injury, contact us today.