What should I do if my filling falls out?
If a filling falls out, rinse your mouth with warm water, keep the area clean, chew on the other side and avoid very cold, hot or sweet food on that tooth. A temporary filling kit from a pharmacy can cover the hole for a few days. Book a dental appointment within the next few days; at Creative Arts in Dubai the tooth is checked and refilled. Swelling or severe pain needs prompt care.
Who treats you here Dr. Duaa Ameen General Dentist · Dr. Julia General Dentist · Dr. Marina Antoniuk Dentist
Every dentist’s licence can be checked on the DHA Sheryan medical directory.
What should you do in the first hour?
These steps protect the tooth and make the next few days more comfortable. None of them replaces a dental visit.
Take it out of your mouth
Spit out the filling or any fragment so you do not swallow or inhale it. Swallowing a small piece is usually harmless; coughing that does not settle needs medical advice.
Straight awayLook at what came out
A smooth silver or tooth-coloured piece is likely filling material. A rough, white or yellowish piece may be part of the tooth itself, which changes how urgent it is.
Rinse gently
Rinse with warm water, or warm salt water, to clear food from the hole. Then brush the area gently so food does not pack into it.
Protect the hole
If the edge is sharp or the tooth is sensitive, cover it with a pharmacy temporary filling material or, as a short stop-gap, sugar-free chewing gum or orthodontic wax.
Same dayBook an appointment
Call or message the clinic and say that a filling has come out, whether it hurts, and roughly how old the filling was.
Within a few days
Is a lost filling an emergency?
Most are not, but some signs mean the tooth should be seen sooner. Use this as a guide while you arrange an appointment.
| What you notice | What it may mean | How soon to be seen |
|---|---|---|
| No pain, or mild sensitivity to cold or sweet | The dentine underneath is exposed but the nerve is likely healthy | Within a few days |
| A sharp edge cutting your tongue or cheek | Thin enamel walls are left around the hole | Within a few days; cover the edge meanwhile |
| A large piece of tooth came away with the filling | A cusp or wall has fractured | Soon, ideally within a day or two |
| Pain that lingers after cold or hot, or throbs on its own | Decay or exposure may have reached the nerve | Promptly, during opening hours |
| Pain when biting on that tooth | A crack, or inflammation around the root | Promptly |
| Swelling of the gum or face, a bad taste, or a gum boil | Infection | Promptly; urgently if the swelling is spreading |
Creative Arts is open daily, 10:00–20:00, with no overnight service. For what to do with other dental problems out of hours, see dental first aid.
Can you use a temporary filling from the pharmacy?
Yes, as a stop-gap. Pharmacies sell soft temporary filling materials that harden in the mouth, and some contain clove oil (eugenol), which can soothe a sensitive tooth. They cover the hole, keep food out and make the tooth more comfortable for a few days.
To use one, follow the instructions on the pack, which usually involve these steps:
- Rinse and gently dry the tooth with a clean tissue or cotton bud.
- Take a small amount, press it into the hole and smooth it level with the tooth.
- Bite together gently to shape it, then remove any excess so your bite feels normal.
- Avoid chewing on it for the time stated on the pack, and replace it if it wears away.
What a pharmacy filling cannot do is remove decay or seal the tooth properly. It is designed to last days, not months. Do not use household glue, and do not use a kit to cover a tooth that is swollen or throbbing: trapping an infection under a seal can make it worse. If the whole crown, rather than a filling, has come off, our guide to a crown that fell off explains what to do with it.
Why do fillings fall out?
Fillings rarely fall out on their own. Usually something has changed in the tooth around them:
- New decay at the edge. Decay that starts at the margin undermines the filling from underneath until it loosens. This is the most common reason, and the cavity found afterwards is often larger than the original filling. Our page on tooth decay explains how it spreads.
- A crack or broken cusp. Large fillings leave thinner walls of tooth that can crack under biting force, and the filling comes away with the fragment.
- Biting something hard or sticky. Ice, nuts, olive stones, toffee and chewy sweets can dislodge an older filling, often one that was already weakened.
- Grinding or clenching. Night-time grinding puts repeated stress on large fillings and on the tooth around them.
- Age and wear. Every filling eventually wears at its edges. Regular check-ups find leaking margins while a repair is still small.
If a filling comes out within days or weeks of being placed, contact the clinic that placed it, because it may not have bonded fully or the bite may be catching it.
Lost a filling? See how teeth are checked and refilled with tooth-coloured composite at Creative Arts in Dubai, usually in a single visit.
Dental fillingsWhat will the dentist do: a new filling, a crown or more?
The repair depends on what is found once the tooth is examined and, where needed, X-rayed.
| What the dentist finds | Usual repair |
|---|---|
| Sound tooth, filling simply lost | A new tooth-coloured filling, usually in one visit |
| Decay under or around the old filling | Decay removed, then a new, often larger, filling |
| Too little tooth left, or a broken cusp | A crown, sometimes after a core filling; see crown or filling |
| Decay or exposure reaching the nerve | Root canal treatment, then usually a crown; see signs you need a root canal |
| A crack running down into the root | Often extraction, with options to replace the tooth discussed |
At Creative Arts the options and their costs are written in your plan before treatment. Our page on filling cost explains what changes the price.
When to get help urgently
Contact the clinic promptly during opening hours if the tooth is throbbing, keeps you awake, hurts to bite or the gum around it swells. Go to a hospital emergency department straight away if you have facial swelling with fever, difficulty breathing or swallowing, swelling spreading towards the eye or neck, bleeding that will not stop, or a head or face injury.
What happens if you leave the hole unfilled?
For a few days, usually nothing serious. Over weeks to months, the open cavity collects food and plaque, decay progresses into the softer dentine, and the thin walls left around the hole can break. A tooth that needed a simple replacement filling can end up needing a crown, a root canal, or extraction. Sensitivity may also come and go, which can give the false impression that the tooth has settled.
Some people notice sensitivity for a short time after the new filling is placed, especially if the cavity was deep. That is usually temporary; our guide to sensitivity after a filling explains what is normal and when to come back.
How can you stop it happening again?
- Keep check-ups regular, so leaking or cracked fillings are found before they fail.
- Clean between your teeth daily, because many fillings fail from new decay at the edge between two teeth.
- Avoid using your teeth as tools and be careful with ice, nuts, olive stones and very sticky sweets.
- Ask about a night guard if you grind or clench and have several large fillings.
- Ask whether a very large filling should be a crown, especially on a back tooth or a tooth that has had a root canal.