Chipped Teeth? Tips on Handling Chipped Teeth

From time to time, we all have problems with our teeth. It could be that root canal treatment is required, your dental crown or dental implant has fallen off, your dental veneers have failed, you have tooth decay, the tooth’s enamel is damaged or your tooth bonding has failed. However, one of the most annoying things is when we chip one of our beautiful natural teeth. Chipping a natural tooth can be a difficult and stressful problem to get into.

The worst part is that it’s impossible to predict when you might chip a tooth and though a small chip or slight fracture of the tooth isn’t serious, it still probably means a visit to a cosmetic dentist.

Whether it is a fracture or tooth chip through some sports-related injury or because you ate something that was harder on your teeth than expected, you have to look at how you can fix a chipped tooth as soon as possible.

It is critical that you get to an emergency dentist right away in the event you chip a tooth. Before you get to the dentist, you have to do a number of things to keep your tooth from being at risk of further harm.

Rinse Your Mouth

You have to start by rinsing your mouth out with water. This is to help with clearing out any debris or bacteria that might get into the tooth.

You must use warm water in this process. Warm water helps to calm the pain and to also kill off the bacteria. This should assist you with keeping the area protected and secure from possible damages. This may also help with keeping the pain from being too much.

Apply Pressure

You might have to apply pressure onto the tooth. This is to keep bleeding or other problems from developing. Pressure helps to secure any bleeding that occurs and may also keep further bacteria from getting in the way.
Bleeding can develop if the stress from the chipped tooth is too hard. Therefore, a simple piece of gauze may be used to cover the area.

This can add pressure onto the injured spot so the risk of further harm will be reduced significantly. Add this for about ten minutes if possible. The bleeding should stop after enough time.

Avoid Getting Food Around It

Even if you are hungry, you should avoid eating otherwise you could get food stuck on your chipped tooth.

Avoid eating or drinking anything other than water that you should use to rinse your mouth.

You don’t want to add more pressure onto your tooth. If you add too much, the tooth might come apart and cause some serious harm to your smile.

Use Dental Cement

While you must get an appointment with an emergency dentist as soon as possible, there might be times when you cannot find one. These include instances where you are too far from one or the options you have are closed for the time being.

Remember, a dental emergency like this can happen at any time. Therefore, you have to know how to temporarily keep the tooth from being harmed further while waiting for help to become available.

Dental cement can be used to help temporarily fix the issue. This is a zinc-based compound that may be applied onto the area that has been hurt by a chip.

As this is used, a small cap can be applied onto it to fit over the tooth. The cement will keep the cap in its place.

As this works, the tooth will be fully secured. It will not be exposed to anything else, thus ensuring that your tooth isn’t at risk of further harm.

This will protect the tooth for a good period of time before you can get help. This can be easily washed off by a dentist too. However, it can naturally wear out after a while. A typical application will work for a few hours.

Use a Cold Pack

A chipped tooth will often result in swelling. This is due to nerves possibly being damaged. A cold pack can be applied to your cheek or lips over the tooth. As this works, you will relieve swelling as the pain will be less intense.

Do this for as long as needed after you start to feel swelling so you can keep the pain down. The cold pack should be applied outside of the mouth. Don’t force lots of pressure onto your face or else it will be harder for you to keep your tooth protected.

Can Medicines Work?

An over-the-counter pain relief product can also be used. You can take a single dosage to reduce the pain you are feeling. Make sure you only take whatever is directed on the medicine bottle so you don’t hurt yourself.

The medicine will not harm your bloodstream to the point where it will be harder to repair the tooth. It will simply reduce the intensity of the pains felt within nerves and other tissues.

Try and take the medicine with only a small amount of water. Make sure the water doesn’t get in contact with the tooth that has been harmed. You have to keep the pressure on that tooth from being too extreme. This can make a world of difference if handled properly.

Don’t Try Playing With the Tooth

Whatever you do, don’t fall into the temptation of playing around with the chipped tooth. You might think you can get the chipped parts back together or that you can clean it off quickly. By doing that, you are only putting your tooth at further risk of damage.

Make sure you avoid tampering around with your tooth for far too long. Allow your dentist to take care of it as needed. You especially have to watch for how the problem is kept under control so it won’t be at risk of further damage or harm.

It is about protecting your tooth and seeing that only a professional can take care of it as required without adding more damage to it. Be sure to watch for what you can do in the event that you have a chipped tooth.

You must respond to this dental emergency as soon as possible to keep the damage associated with it from being worse than what it might potentially be if left untreated. Make sure you at least care for the tooth before help is available so the damage will be kept to a minimum.

“The severity of dental problems is really hard to assess without a dental exam. It’s a good sign if there’s no pain, but it’s always best to have a broken or chipped tooth checked as soon as you can.”

Dr. Greg Grillo