What to Do About a
Broken Tooth

There are certain steps you should do to take care of your broken tooth. The first step is to call your dentist.

It is important to call your dentist right away and get the next available appointment. If you wait, your broken tooth could get infected or additional damage could occur. You could end up losing the tooth.

Your options would be different if that happened. A partial or implant would be necessary to fill the gap.

While you are waiting to see the dentist, you can use any over-the-counter pain reliever if you are in pain. Whatever you would use normally for a headache should work for a toothache, too.

Rinsing with warm salt water is soothing. You can do that two or three times a day.

Stick with soft foods if you must eat before your appointment. Brush the affected area gently. Use floss to clean around the chipped or broken tooth, just as you normally would.

A sharp or jagged edge can cause irritation and even cut your tongue, lip or the inside of your cheek. You can cover the jagged edge with paraffin wax or chewing gum until you are able to see the dentist.

Once you reach the dentist's office, you can expect a complete exam. A minor chipped tooth can be repaired in a single office visit. The location of the chip will have some bearing on which procedure your dentist will use to repair it.

When the molars are involved, normal filling material can be used to repair the damage. For chips on front teeth, your dentist will use a procedure called bonding.

A tooth-colored composite resin is used to make the chip less noticeable when you smile. No numbing is needed, as the work involves a simple roughing of the remaining surface, which allows the bonding material to stick. Shaping is done and a UV light is used to harden the material. It's as simple as that.

Broken Tooth

A chipped tooth sometimes calls for a cap or crown. Caps or crowns are used when a large portion has broken away. The covers may also be the best options if decay is present. The decay must be filed away before it is covered. This procedure takes longer, but is sometimes necessary.

Also a chipped tooth is sometimes covered with veneers. Once the chip is filled and shaped, the veneer is used to cover it to make the seam invisible.

So you see, a Broken or Chipped tooth is not the end of the world. You just need to call your dentist.