Chipped or knocked-out tooth while travelling: what to do

It can happen on a flight, a bike hire or a plate of olives: a sharp crunch, a gap or a chip, and you are far from your own dentist. The first minutes decide a lot, and most of what helps is simple. This guide gathers the NHS advice for a knocked-out tooth and for a chipped or broken one, then adds a short plan for finding care in another country. The NHS pages are written for the UK, so where we adapt them for travel, we say so. Please read it before a trip, not during one.

A knocked-out adult tooth

The NHS says you can usually save a knocked-out tooth by either putting it back in place, or in milk, as soon as possible before seeing a dentist. Its steps are:

1. Hold the tooth by the crown. That is the white part that sticks out of the gum. Do not touch the root.
2. Rinse it gently if it is dirty, in milk, saline or saliva.
3. Try to put it back into the hole in the gum.
4. Bite down gently on a clean cloth to hold it in place if it goes back in easily.
5. Go to a dentist as soon as possible.

If you cannot put the tooth back, the NHS says you can put it in milk or saliva (spit into a container) and take it with you. It asks for an emergency dentist appointment if you have knocked out a tooth, even if you cannot find it.

A baby tooth

The NHS is clear: do not put a baby tooth back in, because it could damage the tooth growing underneath. If a child loses a baby tooth in an accident, the dentist still needs to see them.

A chipped, broken or cracked tooth

The NHS says chipping, breaking or cracking a tooth is usually not serious and that a dentist should be able to treat it. Its advice is to see a dentist, and, if a piece of tooth has broken off, to put it in milk or saliva and take it with you, as the dentist may be able to glue it back on. Treatment can range from gluing the fragment back to a filling, a crown or, for a badly broken tooth where the nerves are exposed, root canal treatment.

Situation	NHS guidance in short	Our travel note
Knocked-out adult tooth	Hold by crown, rinse gently, put it back or in milk, see a dentist fast	Ask your hotel for the nearest emergency dentist
Knocked-out baby tooth	Do not put it back in	Still have the child seen if it was an injury
Chipped or cracked tooth	See a dentist; keep the fragment in milk or saliva	Photograph the break and the fragment
Broken tooth with exposed nerve	Dentist may need root canal treatment	Treat it as urgent

Finding a dentist when you are not at home

The NHS tells UK residents to call their dentist, or 111 if they cannot get an emergency appointment. That does not work abroad. These steps are our own suggestions, not NHS advice:

• Before you go, save your travel insurer’s emergency assistance number and your policy number somewhere that works offline, and check whether dental emergencies are covered.
• At the hotel, ask the front desk for the nearest emergency dentist. They usually know.
• If you are lost, check the national health or embassy website for the country, or call the local emergency number if there is heavy bleeding or a head injury.
• Keep receipts. Insurers usually need them to refund treatment.

What to pack

You do not need a special kit. A few things help:

• A small lidded container, for a tooth or a fragment.
• Your insurance card and the assistance number, kept with your passport.
• Gauze or a clean cloth for biting on.
• Your regular travel oral-care kit; our travel oral-care kit checklist lists it.

If you are flying, our oral care on a flight guide covers the rest of the trip. And if you cannot trust the water where you are going, read brushing your teeth abroad before you pack, since a rinse with unsafe water is a poor idea in a mouth that already hurts.

The whole bag

A trip bag in a rainy place carries more than teeth: passport, insurance card, charger and, for the weather, a compact umbrella. Calm Eden’s guide to bringing an umbrella on a plane covers carry-on rules, and the Haven Umbrella folds to 40 cm (15.75 in), weighs about 390 g and opens and closes with one press. The details are copied from the Calm Eden listing, and because both sites share an owner we have not checked them independently.

If it happens

• Knocked-out adult tooth: hold by the crown, rinse gently, put it back or in milk, see a dentist fast.
• Baby tooth: never put it back.
• Chip or crack: usually not serious, but see a dentist and keep any fragment in milk or saliva.
• Abroad: save your insurer’s number and ask your hotel for an emergency dentist.

Sources: NHS, Knocked-out tooth and Chipped, broken or cracked tooth, both checked 25 October 2026. The travel notes and the packing list are our own suggestions. This guide is general information, not medical or dental advice. In an emergency, get help from a dentist or a doctor.