Panic! At the Dentist: What to Do When a Tooth is Knocked Out

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Your smile is often your ticket into the world.  It says so much about your personality, health, and attitude. Undergoing the trauma of losing a tooth can be distressing, whether it breaks suddenly or is knocked out.  However, there are steps in place to minimize its impact.  

The first thing is prevention.  Do what you can to avoid losing a natural tooth in the first place.  

• If you are participating in a contact sport, use a mouthguard.  Examples of contact sports are football, basketball, and ice hockey.  Don’t forget about semi-contact sports like softball, volleyball, and baseball.  Allen Dental can help you learn more about custom-made mouthguards for you or your children.
• Wear seat belts.  This is a common sense approach, but one that often fails when counted the most.  
• Use caution to prevent falls.  Challenging weather, construction, or hiking can catch us off guard so pay attention when walking.   
• Avoid hard foods such as hard candy, stale bagels, and unpopped kernels.

If you do lose a tooth, here’s what you can do to minimize the situation.  

• Do not panic.  It is easy to get emotional when seeing blood, undergoing the trauma, and thinking about long term implications.  Stay in the moment.  If you remain calm,  you will respond with purpose and practicality.  
• Call your dentist immediately.  Oftentimes it is possible to see him immediately and the mouth can be healed and a plan put into place as to how to repair and replant the tooth.  
• Control the bleeding by applying direct pressure on the mouth by using a gauze or wet tea bag.
• Save the tooth or part of a tooth that has been knocked out.  
• Handle the tooth by the crown, not the root.  Trying placing it back in your mouth to make it level, if this doesn’t work, place the tooth in a small container with cow’s milk or saliva.  Do not use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.  That said, do not try to wipe dirt by scraping the tooth or using a brush to clean it.  It is important to keep the integrity of the tooth intact.  

While this can be traumatizing, if certain steps are taken immediately, it minimizes the effects of the tooth being knocked out.  With the right dentist on hand, a strategic plan can put into place and you’ll return to your radiant smile in no time.    

Allen Dental is there to help with preventive care such as mouthguards, but also provides routine cleanings, pain-free dental procedures, orthodontics, and cosmetic dentistry.  Call us at 608-786-3303.

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Sources:

www.allendental.net/

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000058.htm