A dental emergency can happen at any time. Knowing what to do in a dental emergency can help ease anxiety and potentially save a tooth.

What is an avulsed tooth?

An avulsed tooth is any tooth knocked out of the mouth due to an accident or injury. If you’ve lost a tooth, contact your dentist right away to see if the tooth can be put back into place. In the meantime, keep the tooth moist by storing it in a glass of milk on your way to the dentist’s office. Do not attempt to clean off any of the tissue attached to the root as this can cause damage. Instead, place a wet piece of gauze over your tooth and bite down to keep it in place. Take over-the-counter pain medication as needed to relieve pain and prevent infection. Your dentist may splint the tooth to the neighboring teeth until it can be reattached, but make sure to seek immediate care. This helps to prevent permanent damage from occurring to your jaw.

Even if you’re able to put the knocked out tooth back into its socket temporarily, you still need to see a dentist as soon as possible. Leaving it out of the mouth for too long increases the chances of contamination. In addition to being at risk for losing the tooth permanently, you could also experience significant pain in the meantime. As soon as you lose a tooth, call your dentist right away to schedule an appointment. In some cases, an emergency appointment may be necessary if the situation is time-sensitive.

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What are the consequences of an avulsed tooth?

The loss of a tooth, whether due to accident or sports injury can be traumatic for a child. However, there are a few steps your child can take to relieve the pain and help save the tooth. The first key is to get to a dentist’s office as soon as possible. An avulsed tooth that is still in the socket can be saved if the dentist can see it within an hour of being knocked out. Your dentist will clean the debris out of the socket and may be able to reimplant it. If the tooth has been knocked completely out, your dentist can clean and place a splint on the child’s gums to help preserve the bone structure around the the roots of the missing tooth. He or she may also take x-rays to check for root damage and bone deterioration before prescribing any medication to manage pain.

If your child needs an emergency dentist appointment, call our practice today! We offer same-day appointments for existing patients and emergency walk-ins for urgent cases. Let our experienced team take care of your little one’s needs. Call us today so we can help with any pediatric dental care emergencies you may have!

Avulsed Tooth FAQs

What age should a child be before learning to play contact sports?

Children should be screened for risk factors associated with certain activities by the age of six. These include concussions, trauma to the mouth and head, and other injuries that may lead to tooth loss. In some cases, it may be recommended that children wait until they are a bit older to engage in such activities. When playing sports, ensure that your child is wearing a mouth guard and a helmet with face protection to reduce the risk of losing their teeth. It is also important to check to make sure all equipment is working properly and meets safety standards.

What are some ways to reduce the chance of bleeding from an avulsed tooth?

What is avulsed teeth treatment?

When a tooth is knocked out, it’s important to seek dental care immediately. The sooner the tooth is treated, the more likely it will be able to be replanted and preserved. A dentist may be able to mend the broken tooth in a way that allows for successful reattachment to gum tissue. However, if the tooth is unable to be reattached to the gums, replacing the missing tooth with a dental implant is the next best solution.

If left untreated, an avulsed (knocked-out) tooth will dry out quickly. This can happen within a half hour of being knocked out. If this happens, the tooth will have little to no chance of a successful restoration. This is because the roots of the teeth prevent any bacteria from entering the canals where nerves and blood vessels are housed. Without the root in place, bacteria and infection can enter the nerve of the tooth and cause a painful infection.

Treating a tooth that has fallen out requires stabilizing it in the mouth before seeking treatment from a dentist or endodontist. Stabilization keeps the root moistened and prevents it from drying out. This is only a temporary fix until the patient can get in to see the dentist for a more permanent solution.

After stabilization and treatment, it’s important for avulsed teeth to be treated like natural teeth. This means brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and avoiding foods that are hard to chew or may damage the fragile teeth.

Correctly caring for a knocked-out tooth can preserve its integrity. If the tooth can be reattached to a healthy gum line, it is a viable fixture in the mouth. If not, dental implants are the next best thing. Dental implant procedures can replace missing teeth permanently and restore full function of the affected area.

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What are avulsed molar treatment options?

In the event of an avulsion, a dentist will need to splint the tooth immediately to prevent the teeth from moving back into place. The tooth should be gently rinsed and then placed into the dental socket as soon as possible. The patient will need to be seen within 24 to 48 hours to ensure that the tooth is properly repositioned and stabilized. An X-ray should be taken to verify proper placement. If the tooth cannot be reinserted into the socket, it should be stored in milk until the patient can be seen by the dentist.

A root canal will likely be needed if the pulp of the tooth was exposed during the trauma. If a permanent tooth has been knocked out of a child’s mouth, an emergency space maintainer may be needed to prevent a space from developing between the primary teeth and the permanent teeth.

Once a tooth has fallen out, it is not likely to grow back on its own. However, there are some instances where an adult tooth will grow back in after a fall or injury. This may be possible if the root of the tooth was not completely severed in the accident. In some cases, it may be possible to reimplant the tooth surgically if it is done quickly enough after the tooth loss.

Avulsion injuries are quite rare but it is important to seek treatment immediately following an injury. Failure to do so may result in the need for an implant in the future as the knocked-out tooth will not shift back into the socket on its own.

Author: Dr. Isaac Samuels

Date Published: 2/11/2018