Before your visit
Useful information for your next step.
Check for injuries beyond the tooth
After a fall, collision, or blow to the face, first check breathing, bleeding, and signs of head or jaw injury. Call 911 for breathing difficulty, loss of consciousness, or severe bleeding. Serious facial trauma, confusion, repeated vomiting after an impact, or a visibly displaced jaw requires immediate medical assessment.
For bleeding from an accessible area of the mouth, apply steady pressure with clean gauze if you can do so safely. Seek emergency medical care if bleeding is heavy or does not stop with sustained pressure. Avoid placing loose material in the mouth of someone who is drowsy, unconscious, or at risk of choking.
If the injury appears limited to a tooth, contact a dentist promptly. A loose tooth, a tooth pushed out of position, a large fracture, or visible pink or red tissue inside a broken surface needs urgent dental attention. Do not assume that a painless injury is minor.
What to do with a broken fragment
Collect any tooth pieces you can find safely. Gently rinse away visible dirt without scrubbing, then keep the fragments in a clean container with milk or saline. Bring them to the dentist. A fragment may help with assessment and can sometimes be useful in repair, but saving it does not establish which treatment will be possible.
Gently rinse your mouth with water if you are fully alert and able to spit. Choose soft foods, chew away from the injured tooth, and avoid hard, crunchy, or sticky foods. Use a wrapped cold pack against the outside of the cheek for short intervals if there is swelling after an impact.
For temporary pain control, follow the label on an over-the-counter medicine that is safe for you. Ask a pharmacist if you take other medicines or have a medical condition that affects pain-medicine choices. Never put aspirin directly on the tooth or gum, and do not file or sand a sharp tooth edge yourself.
A knocked-out whole tooth needs different handling
A whole permanent tooth knocked out of its socket is time-sensitive. Seek emergency dental help immediately. Pick it up by the crown, the part normally visible above the gum, and avoid touching the root. If dirty, rinse it briefly and gently without scrubbing, using milk, saline, or cool running water.
If you are certain it is a permanent tooth and the person is alert and cooperative, gently place it back into the socket if it slips into position easily. Do not force it. Have the person bite gently on clean gauze to hold it in place while obtaining immediate dental care.
If reinsertion is not possible, keep the tooth moist in milk or a tooth-preservation solution and take it with you immediately. Do not wrap it in a dry tissue. Never reinsert a baby tooth. If you are unsure which type of tooth it is, keep it in milk and obtain urgent dental guidance. Do not store a tooth inside the mouth of a child or anyone who could swallow or inhale it.
