Rinse your mouth with warm water, save any pieces, and cover a sharp edge with dental wax or sugar-free gum if it is cutting your tongue. Use a cold compress for swelling and see a dentist promptly - even a small chip can expose dentine and let bacteria in. If the damage was accidental, ACC usually covers part of the treatment.
What to do straight away
- Rinse gently with warm water
- Save any broken pieces in milk or saline - sometimes a fragment can be bonded back on
- Cover a sharp edge with dental wax or a piece of sugar-free gum so it stops cutting your tongue or cheek
- Cold compress on the outside of the cheek for swelling
- Over-the-counter pain relief as directed if it is sore
- Avoid chewing on that side
- Ring us - even a chip that does not hurt should be looked at
If a whole tooth has been knocked out
That is a different and more urgent situation, and the first hour matters most. Hold the tooth by the crown, never the root. Rinse it briefly in milk if dirty - do not scrub it and do not use tap water. Put it back in the socket if you can and bite gently on a clean cloth to hold it. If you cannot, keep it in milk and get to a dentist immediately.
For a child's baby tooth, do not try to put it back in - but still ring so we can check nothing else was damaged.
How chips and breaks are repaired
It depends entirely on how much tooth is gone and whether the nerve is involved. A small chip is usually smoothed or built up with composite in one visit. A larger break may need a crown. A break that exposes the nerve generally needs root canal treatment before the tooth is restored.
A vertical crack running down into the root is the difficult one - those cannot always be saved, and we will tell you honestly if that is what we are looking at.
ACC
If the damage happened in an accident - sport, a fall, a bike or ski accident - ACC usually covers part of the treatment cost. We lodge the claim for you, including for many visitors injured in New Zealand.
See a dentist if
- Any part of a tooth has broken off, even if it does not hurt
- The tooth is painful, or sensitive to hot and cold
- There is a sharp edge cutting your tongue or cheek
- The tooth is loose or has moved position
- Your bite feels different
- You can see pink or red in the middle of the broken surface - that is the nerve
We're in central Queenstown and keep room for emergencies. Call 03 441 8248.
This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Reviewed by Dr Adrian Paul, BDS (Otago), principal dentist at Lakeside Dental Practice. If you're worried about a specific problem, see a dentist.
