Suddenly breaking or chipping your tooth can be a stressful experience, it can happen to anyone regardless of their level of oral health. If you find yourself in a situation where this happens, often a result of trauma to your mouth, here’s what you should do to aid the pain and stop yourself from getting permanent damage.
Rinse out your mouth.
After chipping or breaking a tooth, you should immediately rinse your mouth out with warm water. This helps to keep the area clean and rinses away any blood and dirt. Also, the piece of the tooth which has broken off could still be in your mouth. Rinsing stops you from biting down on it, potentially damaging more teeth, or swallowing it.
Stop any bleeding.
If the trauma to your mouth has caused any bleeding, apply pressure to the damage with a clean towel or gauze as soon as possible. This helps the bleeding to stop and means you won’t swallow as much blood too. Try not to scrub or irritate the area further as it might be painful or make you bleed even more.
If your bleeding is excessive, it is best to call 999 as your injuries might be more severe than a broken tooth.
Try to find and preserve the tooth.
If your whole tooth has broken out your mouth, try to find it as quickly as you can. There is a chance your dentist can save it.
When found, give it a rinse, and keep it submerged in milk or a saline solution. If you have neither of these, then keep it in clean water. The quicker you see a dentist, the more likely they can save your tooth.
If the tooth hasn’t fully come away, leave it in your mouth. We understand this may feel uncomfortable, but trying to remove it may only make the situation worse.
Apply a cold compress.
Holding a cold compress to the affected area can help with the pain and swelling. Cold works to constrict blood vessels and slows blood flow to that area. In effect, this minimizes inflammation, numbs the pain slightly, and stops bleeding.
If you don’t have a cold bag in your freezer, you could fill a ziplock bag with ice and wrap it in a clean towel.
Take painkillers.
If you are in a lot of pain, taking an over the counter painkiller, like paracetamol, can help.
See your dentist as soon as you can.
Even if you don’t feel pain, make sure to contact your dentist as soon as you can. Small fractures could potentially lead to further damage or an infection.
