Immediate Care for Knocked-out Tooth

Accidents can happen without warning. Accidents to the mouth can knock (or “avulse”) your teeth right out of the jaw that holds them!

At My Local Dentists West Ryde, we’ve seen a variety of facial and dental injuries that cause teeth to be lost! When accidents happen, they are far and away the leading cause of teeth being knocked-out in children and adults.

A knocked-out tooth requires quick action. An immediate and informed response increases the chance that the tooth can be reinserted and survive avulsion.

When a tooth is avulsed, it loses its blood supply and contact with nerves, but it can still be reinserted given proper care and a hasty trip to your West Ryde dentist.

Why is an avulsed tooth such a big problem?

Accidentally losing a tooth is a severe dental emergency for a permanent tooth and can easily lead to its permanent loss.

Getting you and your tooth to the dentist is the most important thing you can do to save a knocked-out tooth.

The number one rule

Make sure you have your dentist’s contact information on hand! Call us immediately for fast and efficient action. We can advise you over the phone on how to best manage the pain until you arrive at the clinic, and when you do, we’ll work hard to save your tooth.

What you can do

Try to replant the tooth. Here are the steps:

1. Pick up the tooth by the crown.
2. Do not touch the root of the tooth.
3. Do not scrape or scrub the tooth.
4. If there is obvious debris on the root, gently rinse it quickly (10 seconds) with saline (salt water) or milk or if neither of the above is available, with cold water.
5. Do not use alcohol for cleaning.
6. Firmly reposition the tooth into the socket. Use adjacent teeth as a guide to work out proper positioning. Try to get it as close to the level of the other teeth as possible.
7. Bite down on damp gauze, a clean flannel, or a handkerchief to keep the tooth in place. A wet tea bag also works.

You should not replant a knocked-out baby tooth. However, it would help if you still took your child to the dentist for a check-up to ensure nerves and blood vessels are not severely damaged.

Reinserting a permanent tooth into its gum socket gives it a higher chance of survival. Studies have shown that teeth replanted within 15 minutes have a 98% chance of being retained.

Benefits of replanting a permanent knocked-out tooth:

• Far less expensive (compared to replacing a missing tooth).
• More aesthetically pleasing
• Less painful

When a tooth is knocked completely out of the jaw:

• Retrieve it by holding it by the crown (top white part)
• You can rinse the tooth briefly and gently
• Use a bowl of lukewarm water
• Do not scrape clean the tooth with a cloth
• Do not use running water

A permanent tooth can generally be reimplanted as long as there is no damage to the root. If you are transporting a knocked-out tooth, keep it moist by putting it into the following:

• Skim milk
• Lukewarm water
• Contact lens solution
• In contact with saliva in the mouth (when there is no risk of airway compromise and NOT in the case of young children)

What Your Dentist Will Do

Your West Ryde dentist will flush debris from the socket and reinsert the tooth in the gums and jaw. Reimplanting the tooth as soon as possible is critical, ideally within an hour of the accident.

Your dentist will almost always recommend a root canal but, depending on circumstances, may perform the procedure immediately or at a later date. If the tooth can be reinserted, your dentist will splint it to adjacent teeth to temporarily hold it in place. Your dentist will decide how long the splint should continue to support the tooth.

If the bone around the tooth is not fractured, its root will usually reattach to the bone in about three to four weeks. If there is severe damage, the area may take six to eight weeks to be repaired.

Your West Ryde dentist will examine the tooth again in three to six months. The next visit will occur at your yearly check-up unless there are signs of infection. Your dentist will follow up for two to three years to ensure the tooth remains reimplanted.

Knocked-out Tooth Management in West Ryde

At My Local Dentists West Ryde, our service and treatments are 100% personalised for you. All our dentists are highly motivated and accredited practitioners with graduate degrees from the University of Sydney. Along with the dentists, the supporting staff at our dental practice are highly dedicated and experienced in ensuring each visit with us is as comfortable as possible.

Same-day dental emergency appointment is available.

Call us at (02) 9809 7000 or visit Shop 20 West Ryde Marketplace, 14 Anthony Road in West Ryde.