What should you do if you knock out a tooth?

by Dr. Hung Truong D.D.S | Oct 14, 2024

Don’t Panic! Teeth Getting Knocked Out Happens All the Time

Knocking out a tooth happens more often than you may think. More than 5 million people in the US alone knock out a tooth each year. Falls and contact with a hard surface are some of the most common reasons for damaged teeth. Playing sports is also a high-risk activity that is easy for someone or a child to accidentally damage their smile. If you or one of your children knocked out a tooth, it’s okay! Take a deep breath and don’t panic. There are a few things that you can do to potentially fix the situation before needing to look at options of replacing it. Take the steps below to have a better chance at saving your tooth and smile!

1. Locate

1. Locate
The first thing you need to do if your tooth has fallen out is to find where it fell. When you do locate it, be sure to pick it up from the crown. The crown is the visible part that we all see when we open our mouths or smile. You do not want to pick up your tooth by the root end. The root end is very delicate, and the tissue fragments can be easily damaged. Picking your tooth up from this end can further damage the nerves inside and your dentist may not be able to reattach it.

2. Clean

Once found, if you are able to, run it under some water to clean it. If you are planning on running it under water in a sink, place the tooth into a cup and slowly add some water to the glass to clean it. This will ensure that you don’t accidently drop it and lose it down the drain. Make sure you are using cold water, not hot water. Do not use salt water, alcohol, or mouthwash.

3. Take a Look at the Damage

Take a look in the mirror and assess where your tooth came out. Try to gently insert it back in its socket. If you are able to place the tooth comfortably back into the socket, take a clean cloth or gauze and gently bite down. This will protect the tooth and keep it in place. Reinserting the tooth back into its socket can increase the chances of saving it. Make sure to reinsert it within five minutes of being knocked-out. This will give your dentist a better chance of being able to reattach your original tooth back in your mouth and avoid the need of getting a fake one. The chance of a knocked tooth surviving is very low if you wait to reinsert it for more than 60 minutes. Reinserting it will help keep everything moist. Moist roots are an essential part of keeping it alive and able to survive so it can be reinserted into the mouth.

4. Store the Tooth

Not able to reinsert it? It is important to keep the roots moist and there are a few different ways you can do this. The easiest thing you can do to keep it moist is to place it in a cup with a liquid. Placing it in milk or a saline solution is the best way to ensure the survival of your tooth. Milk is a great way to help keep the roots protected. Milk contains sugars, proteins, and antibacterial properties. These three resources are essential and can help keep the roots alive for 30-60 minutes. It is important that you do not place the tooth in water. This can harm its health. If you don’t have milk or a saline solution, you can tuck the tooth in your cheek or your gums. You can even put some saliva into a cup to keep it protected.

5. Schedule an Appointment with Your Dentist

After locating the tooth and ensuring that the roots are kept moist, it is important to contact a dental practitioner immediately. Getting emergency dental care within 30 minutes of it coming out will ensure that it can be reattached. Seeing a dental practitioner as soon as possible will be the best chance at saving your tooth. Getting to a dentist within 30 minutes can give you a 90% chance of saving your original smile.

How Does Reimplantation Work?

Once you get to the dentist, they will examine your mouth for damage and assess the overall health of your smile. After assessing and confirming that the tooth can be reimplanted, your dentist will work on cleaning out the area. Making sure your mouth is clear of debris or any other contaminants will keep everything clean and avoid the risk of infection. Once clear, your practitioner will manually work on reinserting the tooth back into place. They will use firm pressure and a splint. The temporary splint that will insert while reimplanting will immobilize the tooth. This splint is typically made from soft wire or another material that can safely stay in the mouth for a few days up to several weeks. Using a splint will allow the ligaments and roots to reconnect and reattach themselves. Your practitioner will advise how to care for your fixed smile. They will also advise how long it will take for it to heal so you can remove the splint and have your smile back. Your practitioner may prescribe you an antibiotic to help with the healing. Make sure to follow up with your practitioner if there is anything unusual that happens or if you are in any pain. They will be able to advise what to do and if you need to make another stop in to get everything looked at.

Stay Calm

It is important to stay calm when you accidently damage your smile. It happens very suddenly, but it is important to relax and focus on the above steps to ensure that you can reimplant and fix the situation. The sooner you get it replanted, the better the chances of it having a successful implantation. Make sure to act quickly and see a professional who specializes in dentistry within 30 minutes. If you are unable to get to the dentist in time or they are unable to reimplant your tooth, you may need an artificial solution which would be recommended to you. Having any missing teeth can lead to a lot of problems. Missing teeth can lead to issues with your speech, your digestion, and the alignment of the remaining teeth in your mouth. Your alignment being affected can cause jaw and mouth pain and lead to further issues the longer you wait to get the issue resolved.

Seeing a dental practitioner quickly is the essential part of making sure you can keep your original smile. At Buckeye Dental, we make sure to always be available for emergencies like this. Our emergency dental services and urgent care are a great option if you are experiencing an accident like this. We are open late and open on weekends! We are ready to work on getting your smile back to being perfect. Call us whenever you have an emergency and need treatment.