Symptom guide
Chipped or Broken Tooth: What to Do Right Now
A chipped or broken tooth can often be repaired, especially when it’s checked early. Here’s what to do today, when an injury needs emergency care, and what treatment may look like.
- Caring for Murrieta families since 1991
- (951) 677-1054
- Free parking front and back
- Rated 4.9 on Google
What should I do if I chip or break a tooth?
Rinse your mouth with warm water, save any large piece in milk, and cover sharp edges with dental wax or sugar-free gum. Use a cold compress for swelling, eat soft foods, and call a dentist as soon as possible. Get emergency care for bleeding that won’t stop or a jaw that won’t close normally.
What should I do right after I chip or break a tooth?
Stay calm, protect the tooth, and call a dentist as soon as you can. Only a dentist can tell how deep the damage goes, even when a chip looks small.
Follow the first steps below while you wait. They keep the area clean, protect your tongue and cheek, and make it easier to repair the tooth.
When is a broken tooth an emergency?
A broken tooth needs emergency care when it comes with heavy bleeding, a jaw injury, a serious blow to the face, or swelling that spreads. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room for:
- Bleeding that won’t stop with firm pressure
- Upper and lower teeth that don’t fit together when you close, which can mean a broken jaw
- A serious injury to your face or mouth, such as from a fall, a car crash or a hard hit in sports
- Swelling in your face, under your jaw or in your neck that makes it hard to breathe or swallow
- Swelling below your eye or that affects your vision, or a high fever with swelling
If an adult tooth is knocked out
Hold it by the crown, not the root. If you can, put it back in the socket and bite gently on gauze. If not, keep it moist in milk or between your cheek and gum, and get to a dentist right away. Don’t scrub the root or let it dry out.
How it works
First steps after a chipped or broken tooth
These steps protect the tooth until a dentist can see it.
- Rinse gently
Rinse your mouth with warm water to clean the area.
- Save the pieces
Put any large fragment in a small container of milk and bring it with you.
- Stop any bleeding
Press clean gauze firmly on the area. If bleeding won’t stop with pressure, go to the ER.
- Cover sharp edges
Use dental wax, or sugar-free gum in a pinch, so the edge doesn’t cut your tongue or cheek.
- Ease swelling and pain
Hold a cold compress on your cheek. An over-the-counter pain reliever, taken as the package directs, may help.
- Call a dentist
Call as soon as possible, even if it doesn’t hurt. Early care can keep a small problem small.
My broken tooth has a sharp edge that is cutting my tongue. What should I do?
Cover the edge with dental wax, or with a piece of sugar-free gum if that’s all you have, until a dentist can smooth or repair it.
Try to chew on the other side of your mouth and avoid biting with the broken tooth. If your tongue or cheek has a cut, clean it gently with water and hold a cold compress against your face.
Can I leave a broken tooth for a week?
It’s not a good idea. Even a small chip in the enamel can let bacteria reach the deeper layers of a tooth, and waiting can turn a simple repair into a bigger one.
If the chip is small and doesn’t hurt, call for an appointment soon. If the tooth hurts, is sensitive to hot or cold, or hurts when you chew, call right away. Cleveland Clinic notes those can be signs the break has reached the nerve, which raises the risk of infection.
Cracks can be harder to spot than chips. A cracked tooth often hurts when you chew, especially when you release your bite, and the pain may come and go. Left alone, a crack can grow until the tooth splits, which is why early treatment matters. If a cracked tooth leads to swelling or a bump on the gum, see our tooth abscess guide.
How do dentists fix a chipped or broken tooth?
The fix depends on how much of the tooth is damaged and whether the nerve is involved. Options a dentist may suggest include:
- Smoothing and polishing for a tiny chip in the enamel. Some very small chips need no treatment.
- Bonding with tooth-colored resin to fill in a minor chip.
- A veneer, a thin shell that covers the front of a chipped front tooth. Learn about porcelain veneers.
- A crown, a tooth-shaped cap that protects a tooth that has lost a large piece. See dental crowns.
- Root canal treatment when the break reaches the nerve, often followed by a crown. Read about root canal treatment.
- Removal and replacement when a crack runs below the gumline and the tooth can’t be saved. A dental implant is one way to replace it.
Updated technology
Dr. Neff’s letter to our patients describes updated technology, including 3D imaging, digital X-rays and digital impressions, for more comfortable visits and fewer appointments. Implants are placed in our office, from start to finish.
What to eat with a broken tooth?
Stick to soft foods and chew on the other side of your mouth until the tooth is repaired. Yogurt, eggs and soup are easy choices.
Skip ice, hard candy and other hard foods that could break the tooth further. If the chip has exposed the inner layers, very hot or cold foods may sting.
Keep brushing and flossing gently, especially around the chip, so food doesn’t collect there.
Why do teeth break as you get older?
Teeth can weaken over the years from decay, large older fillings, grinding and frequent sugary or acidic foods, which makes chips and cracks more likely. Cleveland Clinic lists being over age 50 and long-term acid reflux (GERD) among the risk factors.
At any age, common causes include falls, sports injuries and other blows to the face, biting hard things like ice, hard candy or pens, and using your teeth to open packages.
How can I protect my teeth from chips and breaks?
A mouthguard for sports, a night guard if you grind, and not using your teeth as tools can prevent many chips and breaks.
- Wear a mouthguard for contact sports. If your kids play, ask our team about mouthguards at their next children’s dentistry visit at our Murrieta office.
- Ask your dentist about a night guard if you clench or grind your teeth.
- Don’t chew ice, unpopped popcorn kernels or pens.
- Use scissors, not your teeth, to open packages.
- Limit sugary and acidic foods and drinks, and get treatment for acid reflux if you have it.
- Keep up with regular checkups, where weak spots and old fillings can be checked.
Questions & answers
Common questions
How can I manage pain from a cracked tooth?
Rinse with warm water, hold a cold compress against your cheek, and chew on the other side of your mouth. An over-the-counter pain reliever such as ibuprofen, taken as the package directs, may help; ask your pharmacist if it’s right for you. Pain that comes and goes when you chew or release your bite is common with cracks, so have it checked even if it fades.
How long can a fractured tooth stay in your mouth?
There’s no safe deadline. A fractured tooth can let bacteria reach the nerve, which can lead to infection, and cracks can spread over time. Getting it checked early gives you a better chance of repairing the tooth instead of losing it. If it hurts, is sensitive or has a sharp edge, call a dentist as soon as you can.
Can I leave a half-broken tooth in my mouth?
Leave it for a dentist to handle rather than trying to remove a loose piece yourself. A tooth broken that badly may have damage that reaches the nerve or below the gumline, and an exam and X-rays are needed to plan the repair. Protect it by chewing on the other side and covering sharp edges, and get emergency care for heavy bleeding or a bite that feels wrong.
What is considered a dental emergency?
A dental emergency is a problem that needs care right away to save a tooth or protect your health, such as a knocked-out adult tooth, severe pain, spreading swelling or bleeding that won’t stop. A small chip that doesn’t hurt is less urgent, but it should still be checked soon. Swelling that affects breathing or swallowing, or a serious face or jaw injury, calls for 911 or the ER.
Is a cracked wisdom tooth an emergency?
It isn’t always an emergency, but it needs a dentist’s attention soon. Wisdom teeth are hard to keep clean, so a crack can let decay or infection set in. Call promptly if it hurts when you chew or it’s sensitive to hot and cold. Swelling, fever, or trouble opening your mouth or swallowing make it urgent.
Keep reading
Related care and answers
Emergency Dental Care
What counts as a dental emergency, what to do now for a knocked-out or broken tooth, toothache or swelling, an
Dental Crowns
When you need a crown, crown materials, the steps, digital vs. traditional impressions, crowns after a root ca
Porcelain Veneers
How porcelain veneers work, porcelain vs. composite, who is a candidate, the steps, care and lifespan. Golden
Root Canal Treatment
Root canal treatment saves an infected tooth. Learn the signs, what happens, comfort, crowns, myths and cost,
Toothache
What a toothache can mean, safe ways to ease it at home, and when to call a dentist or go to the ER. A plain g
Sensitive Teeth
Why teeth get sensitive to cold, hot or sweets, what helps at home, what a dentist can do, and when sensitivit
Sources
- Chipped Tooth: Causes, Symptoms & Repair · Cleveland Clinic
- Cracked Teeth · American Association of Endodontists
- Broken or knocked out tooth · MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
- Dental Emergencies · American Dental Association (MouthHealthy)
- How to Fix a Chipped Tooth: Five Possible Ways · Penn Dental Medicine
- Toothache: Symptoms, Causes & Remedies · Cleveland Clinic
- Ludwig’s Angina: Symptoms, Signs & Treatment · Cleveland Clinic
- Wisdom Teeth Management · American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
- Pericoronitis: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment · Cleveland Clinic
Golden Triangle Dentistry is not affiliated with these organizations. Links open in a new tab.
Important information: This page shares general information and is not a diagnosis; a dentist needs to examine the tooth to know how serious a break is. For a serious face or jaw injury, call 911.
Golden Triangle Dentistry
Book a visit
25460 Medical Center Dr, Suite 202, Murrieta
Chipped or cracked a tooth?
Call Golden Triangle Dentistry at (951) 677-1054 and our team will help you have it checked.