Emergency Tooth Care: What to Do for a Chipped Tooth

Tooth injuries, such as chipped teeth, can result from sports, car accidents or biting into hard food. If not handled promptly and properly, you might lose the injured tooth. If you can get help within 30

minutes, there is a good chance the tooth can survive. You can extend this time a bit and increase the chances of saving a chipped tooth if you place it in milk.

Milk is an effective preservative for broken teeth because milk and teeth have similar chemical compositions, according to registered dental hygienist Lisa A. Goss.

Things You'll Need

• Purified water
• Saline solution (optional)
• Thermos or cup with a lid
• Milk

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Instructions

• 1

  Collect the chipped tooth or pieces of the chipped tooth and rinse them in water or saline solution. If you have purified water, use it in place of tap water as chlorinated tap water can damage the tooth.

• 2

  Rinse mouth with warm water to clean the injury.

• 3

  Place the chipped tooth in a glass of milk. If possible, use a thermos or cup with a lid to prevent spills. Use enough milk to cover the tooth.

• 4

  See your dentist as soon as possible.