What do you do if your tooth is knocked out?

Losing your tooth when you are an adult is nothing short of horrific. Forever and ever, you will have a gaping hole in the middle of your mouth. Once you are an adult, you have only one set of teeth which aren't going to grow back if you lose one. It can happen if you fall down, get into a fight or crash against a wall. Basically anything that involves brute force on your face has a chance of dislodging your tooth.

Well, all is not lost yet. If you can get your hands on the tooth, you can still do something about it.

Find it!

If that tooth goes flying out of your mouth because of the punch, you need to find it before it gets lost or worse, vanishes down the drain. Pick up the tooth by the crown and avoid touching the root. Give it a wash with a sterile saline solution like milk. This will get rid of any dirt and dust that would have gathered on top of it. Do not attempt to scrub it, you will risk damaging the tooth's root.

Put it Back

As ridiculous or unappealing as it sounds, put the tooth back in the empty socket. Attempt to hold it in place with gauze or a clean wash cloth until you get to the dentist.

Put it in a Sterile Solution

If the tooth can't be held in the socket inside your mouth, keep it in a sterile solution like milk. Do not put it in water. Water is a terrible solution which does not help preserve the tooth and it makes it more difficult to implant.

No Milk?

If you don't have access to milk, the next best option would be wrap the tooth in gauze which has been soaked in salvia. Sounds disgusting? Well, it is the only way to save your tooth's nerves and roots from dying.

Get to the Dentist Immediately

Drag yourself to the dentist immediately. Attaching your tooth into the empty socket does not mean it will get reattached automatically. It is best to get to the dentist within an hour of having the tooth knocked out. At Smiles, we understand such situations and will adjust to accommodate you. Give us a call and we will make time to get that tooth fixed right away.

There are a variety of actions a dentist may take. It all depends on the situation, how much damage has been done to the tooth and how long has it been out. A dentist may decide to conduct a root canal or attach it back with a composite material.

It will take three to four weeks to reattach itself.

Having said all of this, the best thing to do would be to avoid getting into a fight or falling down!

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