Whether you have suffered from a sporting accident or a freak incident has resulted in your tooth or a child’s tooth being knocked out, knowing what to do is important.
Also referred to as an ‘avulsed’ tooth, a knocked-out tooth can be a serious dental emergency, and not acting quickly could result in the tooth being permanently misplaced.
However, if you do act quickly you may find that the tooth can actually be reimplanted and saved. Here, we’re taking a look at the steps you can take in order to have a knocked-out tooth reimplanted.
1] What To Do If Your Tooth Has Been Knocked Out
If you are attending an incident where a tooth has been knocked out, or your very own tooth is now missing from your mouth, then you will need to ensure that you contact the best London dentist immediately.
The nerves, blood vessels and all tissues within the area will be damaged but the tooth can actually reattach itself to the bone within the mouth, meaning a root canal procedure will be required in order to save the tooth.
If you are on your way to the dentist, then you will also need to ensure that you do not damage the tooth further.
2] How To Transport The Tooth
There are a number of different things to consider when you’re on your way to the dentist and transporting the tooth.
Firstly, you should try and ensure that you are handling the tooth carefully at all times and avoiding touching any parts of the tooth which are around the root as this can be easily damaged and is irreparable once it is.
Further to this, if the tooth is dirty, you should rinse it with milk in order to clean it, or use water if milk is unavailable.
Make sure that you do not wipe the tooth with any form of cloth as this can damage the tooth even further, particularly around the root area of the tooth.
Keep the tooth moist throughout transportation by covering it in milk, placing the tooth between the tooth and gum, using saliva in a cup or alternatively placing it in a cup of water if none of the previous options are available.
You may find that you are able to reinsert the tooth yourself from where it came from, and if so, then attempt to do so, ensuring it is facing the right way. Do not force the tooth back into the socket however, as this can do further damage.
3] How Soon Should You Go To The Dentist?
If you’ve had a tooth knocked out, you should aim to ensure that it is reimplanted within an hour of the incident. The dentist will have an emergency phone system which you should call no matter the time of day or whether the incident has occurred on a weekend or a bank holiday when dentists are often closed.
The dentist may perform a root canal procedure immediately when you visit in order to increase the chances of reimplantation, however, you may require debris to be washed from the mouth or may even wait a few days with the utilisation of a splint depending on the circumstances.
If there is additional damage to the bone around where the tooth was knocked out from, then you may find that your recovery time extends to around six to eight weeks, whereas if there is no damage, recovery time is much shorter.
4] Will The Dentist Always Be Able To Reimplant?
If you have delayed going to the dentist, or the tooth has been damaged in transport, then you may find that you are unable to have the tooth reimplanted.
This will be due to the root of the tooth dying and therefore it will not reattach to the bone. If this is the case, then you may have to opt for dental implant in order to retain the original smile that you once had.
