A piece of your tooth just came off. Maybe it hurts, maybe it doesn’t, and maybe there’s a sharp edge your tongue won’t leave alone. Here’s what to do right now, how soon it needs to be seen, and how broken teeth usually get fixed, including teeth that broke off at the gum line.
Key points
- Save any pieces in a small plastic bag, rinse with warm water, and chew on the other side.
- A sharp edge? Dental wax from the drugstore is the safest, easiest fix until you’re seen.
- Even if it doesn’t hurt, get it seen within a few days to a few weeks. The exposed inner layer of the tooth is more sensitive and more likely to decay.
- A tooth broken off at the gum line can often be saved with a root canal and a post, if there’s enough tooth left to build on. Implants are the more predictable option, so it’s a discussion.
- If it hurts, call. We see broken teeth that are causing pain as an emergency visit.
What to do right now
- Save any pieces in a small plastic bag. Milk or saline is fine too.
- Rinse with warm water, and hold a cold pack on the outside of your face if it’s swelling.
- Chew on the other side until it’s fixed.
- Cover a sharp edge with dental wax. It’s sold in the dental aisle of most drugstores, and it’s the safest and easiest way to protect your tongue and cheek.
- For pain, ibuprofen usually helps more than acetaminophen (Tylenol), if it’s safe for you to take.
Go to a hospital emergency room instead if a broken tooth comes with swelling spreading toward your eye or into your neck, trouble swallowing or breathing, or a fever with facial swelling. When it’s a medical emergency.
How soon does it need to be seen?
If it hurts, call us. A broken tooth that’s causing pain is something we see as an emergency visit focused on that tooth, and that includes people who aren’t our patients yet. How to reach us.
If it doesn’t hurt, it still shouldn’t wait long. Within a few days to a few weeks is reasonable. When a piece breaks off, it exposes dentin, the softer layer under the enamel. Dentin can be sensitive, and because it’s exposed, it’s more likely to decay if it’s left that way too long. A break that would be a simple repair this month can turn into a bigger one later.
How broken teeth usually get fixed
| What broke | Usual fix |
|---|---|
| A small chip or corner of a front tooth | Bonding, often in one visit. Sometimes the broken piece can be bonded back on. |
| A piece of a back tooth | A filling if it’s small, or a crown if more than about half the biting surface is gone. Broken pieces of back teeth usually aren’t reattached. |
| Broken off at the gum line | Saving it with a build-up on a post after a root canal, then a crown, if enough tooth is left. Or replacing it with an implant. |
| A crack that runs down into the root | The tooth can’t be saved, and it comes out |
A front tooth corner: G.F.
G.F. had broken a corner off a front tooth. We rebuilt it with composite bonding at a single visit. The before and after photos were taken 16 minutes apart. More on bonding.
When it broke off at the gum line
This is the one that worries people most, and it often still has a good answer. If enough tooth is left to build on, we can rebuild it. The build-up usually needs something to hold onto, so the tooth typically gets a root canal first, which makes room for a post inside the root. The post supports the build-up, and a crown goes over the top.
With teeth broken badly at the gum line, implants have become the more popular choice, because they’re more predictable. Saving the tooth is still a real option, so it’s a discussion: a root canal with a post and build-up to keep your own tooth, or an implant, placed by a surgeon we work with, with the tooth on top made here. How implants work here.
When there isn’t enough tooth left to build on, or the crack runs down into the root, the tooth can’t be saved and needs to come out. We’ll tell you which it is, and what your options are for replacing it. Root canal or pull it? How to decide.
Why teeth break
A tooth usually breaks because it was already weakened: a large old filling, a crack that’s been growing, decay, or a back tooth that had a root canal and never got a crown. Grinding and clenching break teeth too. Finding the reason matters, because it decides whether the repair holds. Crown or filling? How we decide. Why are my teeth chipping?
Call us if
- it hurts, or it’s sensitive to cold or biting
- a large piece broke off, or it broke at the gum line
- a sharp edge is cutting your tongue or cheek, even with wax
- it’s been more than a few weeks and it still hasn’t been seen
Call 702-734-0776. You don’t need to be a patient already. Hours, and what to do after hours.
General education, and not a substitute for an exam.