What To Do When You Knock Out A Tooth

Dentist Blog

Accidents happen and usually, they happen at the least appropriate of times. If you have had an accident that has resulted in one or more of your adult teeth being knocked out, it can be saved but you will need to seek out an emergency dentist like those at Dr David Young & Associates Dental Surgeons

If you have accidentally knocked out a tooth, do not panic. This is the first thing you should remember. It probably will bleed a lot because most mouth wounds do, and there is likely to be pain — you have just pulled a tooth out after all. However the more you panic, the worse the situation will be. 

Try to stay calm, take a couple of deep breaths and take the following steps: 

  • Try to find the tooth if you can. Once you have located it, pick it up using only the main body of the tooth. Don't handle it by the roots. 
  • Rinse the tooth or knocked-out teeth in either milk or water. Never, ever scratch any dust or dirt off as this could damage it and prevent it from being saved. 
  • If you can, pop the tooth back in the hole it has come out of and keep it in place as best as you can. 
  • If you are unable to do this, try to find a small tupperware (or similar) tub, and submerge the tooth in milk as you make your way to the emergency dentist. Whatever you do, never let the tooth dry out. If this happens, you increase the chances that it cannot be saved. 

The quicker you act, the more of a chance your tooth can be saved, and while you are doing all of the above steps, get someone to call an emergency dentist for the next available appointment. You have a time window of about thirty minutes for the best possible results so as you can imagine, this is a time critical situation. If the tooth cannot be saved, you'll either be left with a gap (which can be unsightly), or you'll need future dental treatment such as implants to close up the gap. 

If you have pain, you should use a cold compress or an ice pack to alleviate it. You can take a painkiller such as ibuprofen but remember any medication you take now could affect any treatment you have done in the next few hours. 

If you are in any doubt, ask your emergency dentist what pain relief you can use or what actions you should take. 

 

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