My Tooth Just Broke — What Should I Do?

A tooth that’s chipped, cracked or knocked out is a dental emergency. What you do in the first hour often decides whether the tooth can be saved. Here’s a clear action plan.

Step 1 — Find and save any fragments

If a piece of tooth broke off, pick it up by the crown (the top), not the root. Put it in:

• Milk (cold or room-temp, ideal)
• Saline (contact-lens solution works)
• Inside your cheek (for an adult, if small and safe)
• Clean water (less ideal — avoid if other options available)

Do not store in tissue paper — the root dries out and dies within minutes. Do not scrub the fragment clean — you’ll damage the delicate root-surface cells.

If the entire tooth has been knocked out, treat it as a true emergency — the tooth can sometimes be reimplanted within 30–60 minutes.

Step 2 — Rinse gently

Rinse your mouth with lukewarm water to clear debris. Don’t aggressively swish. If there’s bleeding, apply gentle pressure with clean gauze or a clean cotton cloth for 10–15 minutes.

Step 3 — Manage pain and swelling

• Take paracetamol or ibuprofen at the recommended dose
• Apply a cold pack to the outside of the cheek (wrapped in a thin cloth), 15 min on, 15 min off
• Avoid very hot or cold food

Step 4 — Call us immediately

At Dantam Dental Solutions, Roorkee we keep emergency slots available every working day. Call +91 97591 17777 and tell the reception “I have a broken tooth / knocked out tooth / dental emergency” — you’ll be seen the same day.

If it’s night, weekend or public holiday, WhatsApp us — a member of the clinical team is on call for genuine emergencies.

What to expect at the clinic

The treatment depends on what’s broken:

• Small chip of enamel — smoothed and bonded back with composite in 20 minutes
• Large chip exposing yellow dentine — composite or veneer in 1–2 visits
• Crack through the tooth with bleeding in the centre — root canal treatment, then a crown
• Tooth completely knocked out — reimplantation if you’re fast (< 1 hour), splinted for 2 weeks, then root canal
• Root fracture — often requires extraction followed by implant or bridge

What NOT to do

• Don’t ignore a chip even if it’s painless. A crack can quietly spread to the nerve over weeks.
• Don’t try DIY repairs with super-glue or cheap kits. You’ll make the proper repair much harder.
• Don’t eat on the affected side until we’ve assessed it.

One more thing

If the tooth broke from trauma (fall, accident, sports), consider a mouthguard before any future high-risk activity. We make custom-fit sports guards at Dantam for a fraction of the cost of another emergency.

Save our number in your phone today. Accidents are rare but always poorly timed.