Was Your Tooth Knocked Out? Know What To Do
Posted on: 10 February 2022
Were you involved in an accident that caused a tooth to be completely knocked out of your mouth? If so, you'll want to know what you should do to potentially save that tooth.
Act Quickly
One thing to know about dealing with a knocked out tooth is that you need to act quickly. The faster that you're able to take action will result in being more successful at saving the tooth. Every minute counts in this situation so that the cells within the tooth are preserved, so make sure not to delay any step.
Find The Tooth
You'll want to locate the tooth that was knocked out so that you can potentially put it back into your mouth. This can be difficult depending on the situation that caused it to be knocked out, but you need to stop and take the time to find it. This means that if it happened during a sport that you were playing, you need to stop playing and locate the tooth in the area where you lost it, and not wait until the game is over to look for it.
Touch The Tooth By The Crown
It's very important that you do not touch the tooth by the root. You can potentially infect the tooth with the natural oils from your hand, which can damage the root. Only touch the tooth by the crown, which is the part that is visible above your gum line. Consider handling the tooth with gloves to avoid any contamination.
Rinse Off The Tooth With Water
If the tooth is dirty because of where it landed, you'll want to gently rinse the tooth off with cold water. Your goal is to get the debris off the tooth with gentle running water, and not scrub the tooth so that it is incredibly clean.
Transport The Tooth Properly
There are a few ways that you can transport the tooth to keep it healthy. You can actually put the tooth into a container of milk to keep it moist. You do not want to use water, since it can actually damage the cells within the tooth. You can also place the tooth in a cup of your own saliva, or carefully keep it in your mouth so that it is protected by your saliva that way.
Visit An Emergency Dentist
You should visit an emergency dentist as soon as possible to put that tooth back into your jawbone. Thankfully, these dentists work at odd hours and will be able to help on short notice with all your dental emergencies.
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