It’s incredibly important that you keep an emergency dentist on speed dial, just in case an accident occurs. You never know when you might have an accident that hits your mouth in just the right way to cause a tooth to break. But if a tooth is broken is there anything to be done about it? What steps can you take to make sure your emergency dental procedure goes as smoothly as possible?

The first thing I always tell patients who ask me these questions is that you need to put the broken piece of tooth into a cup of milk, if at all possible. The calcium of the milk will allow the tooth to stay moist and alive, which means that it can be put back together much more easily. I recall one such patient who had tripped during a game of bowling, and had hit his mouth on his bowling ball. It caused his front right tooth to snap clean in half.

Luckily, he had been smart enough to take the piece of tooth, and place it in a cup of milk as soon as possible. Because of this, I was able to use a dental epoxy to put the tooth piece back in place, instead of having to go the more expensive route of applying a dental crown.

So yes. Always place the piece of tooth in a cup of milk. If you don’t have milk available, water will work, but milk is much better. Water will at least keep the tooth piece from drying out and making it hard and brittle, but the calcium will keep the tooth as alive as it would be in your mouth. And of course, make sure to call an emergency dentist as soon as possible.