Having a dental emergency? Most dental emergencies are nowhere near the severity of other medical emergencies.

In most cases, it’s the potential of extreme pain that is the issue, not health. You should still call your dentist right away.

In this article, we’ll address the issue of what to do if you broke a tooth, it got cracked or chipped.

How We an Fix It

• Typically, if it’s a small crack you’ll need a filling and if it’s a large piece you’ll need a crown.
• If the tooth is cracked all the way through, that would call for a tooth extraction and possibly an implant.
• If a crown breaks in half or if it falls off, you can wait a few days to have it fixed/replaced.

What to Do

Thinking that a chip or break will just be a be minor inconvenience is not the right approach. Left untreated, it could have the potential for serious health issues down the road. Here are some tips:

• Don’t panic!
• If you’re not in pain, that buys you a lot of time. Most often, teeth will break and there’s no pain. It’s normal for there to be, at least initially, some sensitivity to hot and cold. This usually means that the piece that broke off was big enough to expose the inner part of the tooth called dentine. This sensitivity will go away in a few days if it hasn’t reached the nerve. You can use Sensodyne or Colgate sensitive to help.
• You can also buy “temporary fix” from the pharmacy which is a temporary filling material.
• Call your dentist. The more info you give them over the phone, the better. You could say to them something like, “one cusp broke off” or “one half of my tooth broke off” or “a filling fell out.” Better yet, email or text a photo! This will help you know what treatment is expected whether is be a filling, crown or tooth removal.

With most dental emergencies, severe pain may be a factor. If you can’t manage the pain without painkillers you might consider Panadol and/or ibuprofen – but only if you have no previous allergies or medications that can interact with these painkillers. You can check with your doctor and pharmacy but these two painkillers are the most commonly used to curb dental pain. Codeine or tramadol can be added in extreme cases but you will need a prescription for this.

If you have a dental emergency, please do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to give you guidance and support.