If you break or crack a tooth, rinse your mouth with lukewarm water, keep any broken piece you find, use a cold compress on the cheek if there is swelling, and see a dentist soon even if it does not hurt. Treatment depends on how deep the break goes: from simple smoothing or a tooth-coloured filling, to a crown or root canal treatment, and sometimes extraction in severe cases. The earlier it is checked, the better the chance of keeping the tooth.
There is no need to panic; most broken teeth can be treated. These simple steps protect the tooth until your appointment:
Not all breaks are the same. Dentists usually classify them by where they are and how deep they go:
Some cracks cannot be seen and do not always show up on X-rays, but they give typical signs. The best known is a sharp, brief pain when biting on something particular or when releasing the bite, sudden sensitivity to cold, and pain that comes and goes in a tooth you find hard to pinpoint.
Your dentist finds the crack through a careful examination, a bite test on a special instrument tooth by tooth, shining a bright light through the tooth and sometimes after removing an old filling. Early diagnosis matters, because a crack can spread over time towards the nerve or the root.
Your dentist chooses treatment after an examination and X-rays, and plans can differ from person to person:
Teeth usually break from suddenly biting on something hard, such as date stones, ice, nutshells or hard sweets, or from a knock during sport or a fall. Large fillings, root-treated teeth without a crown and night-time grinding all make breaks more likely.
To prevent it: take care with date and olive stones, do not crunch ice or crack nuts or open packaging with your teeth, wear a mouthguard for contact sports, and ask your dentist about a night guard if you notice you clench or grind.
No. Enamel does not regenerate the way bone heals. Treatment aims to stop the crack spreading and protect the tooth, so waiting for pain to appear is not advised.
You can wait a few days if there is no pain or sharp edge, but book an appointment soon. A small chip is usually fixed with a simple procedure, and delay can let it get bigger.
Not always. Many cracks are too fine to appear on standard X-rays, so the dentist relies on the clinical examination and bite tests, and may request extra imaging in some cases.
Have it seen by a dentist the same day if possible, whether it is a baby or a permanent tooth. Injury to a baby tooth can affect the permanent tooth beneath it, and a young permanent tooth needs prompt assessment to protect its nerve.
See a dentist soon after any break or crack, however small. Seek urgent care if the pain is severe or constant, a pink spot or blood appears in the centre of the broken tooth (which may mean the nerve is exposed), the tooth has moved, or your gum or face swells. If the injury came from a hard blow to the face or head with dizziness, vomiting or a deep cut, go to a hospital emergency department first. You can book an appointment at Medical Care Clinics in Al-Shati Al-Gharbi, Dammam, close to Al-Khobar and Dhahran, where our dental team will examine the tooth and explain the right treatment for the depth of the break.
This article is general health education and does not replace a medical examination. Every case needs its own assessment by a doctor.
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