Chipping your tooth can be painful. It can also make you feel self-conscious, especially if you have a front tooth that is chipped. When you chip your tooth, your root could be exposed and you could be feeling a lot of pain with every breath, each time you drink, or whenever you eat. If you chipped your tooth, there are things you need to do. Read on for what you should do if you've chipped your tooth.

1. Save The Tooth

Save the piece of the tooth that you chipped if you still have it. If you do have it, rinse it off as best as you can, then place it in a shallow cup of milk until you can get to the dentist, which should be that same day. If it's just a very small piece of tooth, it may not be able to be set back into place, but a larger piece may be able to be re-attached to your tooth. If you weren't able to preserve the tooth, or you couldn't find it, a cap may need to be put on your tooth to help protect the tooth and the exposed root.

2. Call The Dentist

Call your dentist right away to see if you can get in because of the chipped tooth. You're going to need to get in to have the tooth set back into place if you can, or if you cannot, you need to have a temporary cap put into place if your root is exposed to help prevent any further pain. An exposed root can be very painful, not to mention that an exposed root can lead to infection or other types of dental concerns.

3. Protect Your Tooth

If you aren't able to get to the dentist right away, you're going to need to protect your tooth as much as you can. Try to avoid biting into anything that may affect the chipped tooth. Chew on the opposite side, sip on drinks that aren't too hot or too cold, and take an over-the-counter pain medication to help with any pain you may be feeling until you can get into the dentist.

If you chipped your tooth, try to preserve the chipped part of the tooth and get to the dentist as soon as possible to have the chipped part of your tooth put back into place. If you cannot get to the dentist, do what you can to protect your tooth and to prevent too much pain.