What To Do If Your Tooth Gets Knocked Out

Have you experienced facial trauma in the form of a knocked out tooth? If so, don’t panic due to your dental emergency. The most important thing to do after a knocked out tooth is to remain calm. After you lose a tooth, take the necessary first steps (detailed below) and get in touch with the team at Piney Point Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery immediately. Oral surgery in Houston is likely necessary to ease the pain and repair your smile.

What To Do Right After a Knocked Out Tooth

Immediately after you or a loved one experienced tooth loss due to a sports injury, car accident, or any other facial trauma, act quickly. Teeth have the best chance for reattachment when addressed within the first two hours of loss. The steps you should take following a knocked out tooth include:

• Call us
• Collect the tooth
• Rinse away any debris
• Handle the tooth by its crown, never touch the root
• Store tooth in its socket, under the tongue, or in a bag of milk
• Visit your oral surgeon’s office as soon as possible

Until you can make it to our office, take an over-the-counter pain medication to ease discomfort. In the first few hours following a knocked out tooth, an ice pack applied in 10-minute intervals helps to reduce swelling.

How Your Oral Surgeon Evaluates & Treats Knocked Out Teeth

When you come into Piney Point Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Dr. Weil or Dr. Koo will evaluate the damage to your tooth and put a reattachment plan in place. Teeth may be reimplanted using a splint, brace, and the neighboring teeth for stabilization. If the bone that holds the teeth has been fractured, it may require stabilization with a wire (similar to that used with traditional braces).

Remember that the most important factor influencing the successful reattachment of your tooth is time. After two hours, most teeth are unable to be reattached even with aggressive treatment.

Dealing with a Loose Tooth

If your tooth becomes loose after a facial blow but is still attached in your mouth, try to gently reposition the tooth and promptly contact your oral surgeon’s office. We can reposition and splint the tooth using a splint and wire. Often, root canal therapy will be necessary after initial healing to save the loosened tooth and restore its strength.

Seek Houston Oral Surgeon, Dr. Koo Immediately

The most important thing to remember following a knocked out or loosened tooth is to get in touch with your oral surgeon in Houston as soon as possible. The most critical factor in the successful treatment of your tooth is time — so contact us and we will get you in as soon as possible. When your smile’s health is at stake, we won’t leave you waiting in pain.

by: Piney Point OMS at August 26, 2016.