If a piece of tooth has broken off, keep it moist, for example in a glass of water, and get in touch the same day. Often the piece can be reattached. Rinse your mouth with water, bite on a clean cloth handkerchief if it bleeds and cool your cheek from the outside. If a whole tooth has been knocked out, hold it only by the crown, do not clean it and keep it moist, in a tooth rescue box or in cold milk. Then every minute counts.
Updated: 9 November 2026
The first few minutes
- Stay calm and rinse your mouth. With lukewarm water, without rubbing.
- Stop the bleeding. Bite on a gauze pad or a clean cloth handkerchief. A cool pack wrapped in a cloth on your cheek eases the swelling.
- Keep the piece. Find it and put it in water. It should not dry out.
- Call us. Tell us briefly what happened. We will give you the earliest appointment of the day and tell you what helps until then.
- If it hurts: a painkiller from the pharmacy will tide you over. Ask the pharmacist for advice. Cover sharp edges with a piece of sugar-free chewing gum until your appointment.
If a whole tooth has been knocked out
- Hold it only by the crown, never by the root. Do not clean it.
- Keep it moist: in a tooth rescue box from the pharmacy it stays viable for at least 24 hours. Without a box, in cold milk, but only for a short time. Never dry and never in a paper tissue.
- Get in touch immediately. The sooner the tooth is back in place, the better the outlook.
Outside our opening hours, contact the dental emergency service or a hospital emergency department. If you have difficulty breathing or swallowing, call the emergency number 144.
How we restore the tooth
It depends on how much has broken off:
- A small corner of enamel: we smooth the edge or rebuild the corner with tooth-coloured composite, often in a single visit. Afterwards you see nothing.
- A larger piece: where possible, we reattach the broken piece. Otherwise we rebuild the tooth with composite or protect it with a ceramic inlay, partial crown or crown, depending on how much healthy tooth remains.
- If the nerve is exposed or injured: root canal treatment under the microscope can save the tooth.
- If the tooth is loose or has moved: leave it where it is. We put it back in position and stabilise it with a splint.
Relief comes first. Then we explain what happened, and you decide on the next steps in your own time.
Why teeth break
Often the tooth that breaks was already weakened: by a large old filling, after root canal treatment without a crown, or by grinding at night. Add sports accidents and hard bites such as fruit stones or bones. A well-protected tooth breaks less often. That is why we protect weakened teeth with ceramic, and people who grind protect their teeth at night with a splint.
And with children?
With baby teeth, not every accident is an emergency:
- A knocked-out baby tooth is not put back. Have it checked within three days.
- A broken baby tooth should be checked within three days, the same day if it bleeds.
- For a permanent tooth, the same rules apply as for adults: get in touch immediately.
A dental accident is an accident: report it to your insurer as soon as possible, as the Swiss Dental Association SSO recommends.
