What To Do If You Chip Your Tooth (A Step By Step Guide)

Playing sports or simply slipped and oh no! You chipped your front tooth! What do you do now? Fear not! We have a step-by-step guide to help you through this traumatic experience.

Step 1 – Locate The Other Piece

When you chip your tooth, often the chipped portion of your tooth goes flying in the air and can easily be lost. Your first step is to locate the piece as fast as possible (the faster the better). If you cannot find the piece or if it has shattered into several smaller irrecoverable pieces, don’t worry and skip to step 3.

Step 2 – Put Chipped Portion Of Tooth In Milk

So you found your tooth! Now what? So interestingly enough there is a chance that we as dentists can reattach the piece back to your tooth. Based on various studies, the best chance of your chipped tooth surviving is if you store it in milk. If milk is unavailable, then put the chipped tooth in clean water.

Step 3 – Rinse Your Mouth With Warm Water

You want to now rinse your mouth with warm water in order to keep the area around the chipped tooth clean and sanitary. Do this a few times in order to ensure there is no blood or dirt in that area.

Step 4 – Stop The Bleeding

If you are bleeding still, then you would want to stop the bleeding. In order to do this, apply pressure with a clean towel. This will ensure the bleeding stops and that you do not swallow too much blood.

Step 5 – Apply Ice

Putting ice or a cold compress on your mouth with reduce swelling and help with any pain that you may be experiencing. The cold constricts blood vessels which slows the blood flow to that area of the mouth and thus reducing swelling but also stopping the bleeding.

Step 6 – Go To The Dentist ASAP!

It is crucial that you see the dentist as soon as possible after chipping your tooth. Not only will this allow for a high chance that the dentist can reattach your tooth, but also the dentist can ensure that you do not get infected and the area does not get worse. Even if everything feels fine and you are not in pain, we still advise that you see the dentist right away as there could be some potential issues that may arise from your chipped tooth if you do not treat it right away. 

Do you live in Vancouver and have chipped your tooth? Broadway smiles dental clinic in Vancouver is the perfect place to get it fixed. Dr. Dhia is a Vancouver dentist specialized in helping patients in emergency situations such as chipped teeth among his many other specialties. Book an appointment with us right away!