Once your 32 permanent teeth come in, you want to make sure they go the distance. All too often, however, life can have different plans, and a simple tumble onto pavement can knock a tooth out.
If you think this doesn’t happen frequently, consider that 5 million people in the United States have their teeth knocked out each year. While you might think that once the tooth is knocked out, it’s gone for good, that isn’t necessarily the case. If you act quickly and the conditions are right, there’s a good chance you can save the tooth.
So, if you or a loved one loses a tooth, the team here at Willow Glen Dental Specialists wants you to follow the steps we outline below.
Please note that you should follow these steps for permanent teeth and not baby teeth. If your child’s baby tooth comes out prematurely, we won’t try to salvage the tooth, and can just wait for the second one to come in.
Immediately after the tooth is knocked out, you want to find it as quickly as possible. When you do, be sure to hold it by the crown (the upper part of the tooth) and not by the roots. If clean water is available, rinse the tooth, but only with water. Don’t use soap or any disinfectant.
Once you retrieve and rinse the tooth, take some water and gently rinse out your mouth. You don’t want to swish hard.
Spit the water out and then place the clean tooth into the socket (where your tooth came from). Ideally, the tooth should slide in and then you can hold it in place by gently biting down on something soft, like a piece of clothing or a teabag.
If the tooth won’t go in, please don’t force it.
If the tooth won’t slide back into the socket readily, there are other ways you can still salvage it. If you’re at home and you’ve got milk in the fridge, you can store the tooth in a plastic bag filled with milk.
Or, if there’s no choking threat, you can tuck the tooth into your mouth, between your cheek and gum, as the saliva can preserve your tooth until you come see us.
Both milk and saliva are great for preserving the periodontal ligaments that are needed to reconnect the tooth.
Once you accomplish all the steps above, we want you to come see us straight away. Give us a call and explain your situation and we’ll make every effort to accommodate you. If it’s outside of our hours, please go to an urgent care center. You have a window of an hour or two to save the tooth, so acting fast is imperative.
If you’re unable to perform some of the steps above, the good news is that we can easily replace the tooth with a dental implant. Simply come see us so we can clear out any remnants of the old tooth, and then we can install the implant to prevent bone loss.
If you have more questions about what to do when a tooth is knocked out, please don’t hesitate to contact our office in San Jose, California. You can call 408-478-9081 or request an appointment using our online form.
