If you sustain an injury to your mouth, jaw or teeth in any form, it is essential to get yourself to a dentist sooner than later. It is vital to have your mouth and teeth assessed to check for any injuries you may have sustained and to help save your teeth from future problems. There are several issues that may happen to a tooth during an injury, including concussion (bruising of the gums and ligament), luxation (displacement of the tooth either outward or inward) and avulsion (loss of the tooth.) It is essential to know what to do in the case of a lost tooth from trauma.
- If you have an avulsed tooth, make sure to locate it immediately, if possible.
- Take the loose tooth and put it in either a glass of milk, your own saliva or water.
- If you don’t have these options available to you, you can put the avulsed tooth in your cheek or even gently back in the socket if possible.
- If it fell on the ground or in a dirty area where there is visible debris, rinse it off gently but DO NOT scrub it clean.
- Get yourself to a dentist immediately. Time is of the essence.
When you get to the dentist, they will attempt to place the tooth back into the socket. The sooner you can see the dentist, the better the chance that the tooth will heal. The bone surrounding the tooth will heal up and tighten around the root of the tooth again. A splint will likely be placed to give the tooth more support as it heals. An X-ray will need to be taken in the coming weeks/months to check the tooth’s healing and that the blood and nerve supply reconnect. Sometimes it is necessary to have root canal treatment after a tooth is avulsed when the tooth cannot heal on its own.