Missing a tooth or damaging your tooth due to an accident needs immediate medical attention. If you are certain you’ve knocked out a tooth, try to locate the broken tooth if you can, but most importantly, get an appointment with a dentist as soon as possible.
This is common among children, as they are more prone to falls and slips, which can lead to knocking their teeth off. Whether it’s you or your child, don’t panic. If the nature of the accident is serious, you could have fractures, so it’s best to get it checked.
We’ve prepared a list of 4 scenarios to help you in such situations.
Loose Teeth
The first thing you need to do is assess the situation you’re in. For loose teeth, the rule is to leave them alone. Don’t touch it or try to take it out. The good thing is that in most cases loose teeth can self-heal. You just have to be careful with oral hygiene until the surrounding socket retightens to support your tooth again. Don’t push or feel it using your tongue or fingers; it will delay the healing process.
If you don’t see any signs of improvement in a week, you should see a Cosmetic Dentist. They are more likely to perform a splinting procedure to fix it.
Lost Teeth
So this is for when you are confirmed that you’ve lost a tooth. If you can locate it, carry it safely to the dentist so that they can put it back in your empty socket. Avoid touching the root of your tooth with your hands. Rinse it, most preferably with saline, or just clean water. Carefully put it back in your mouth. Once it’s near the empty socket, bite down softly for the tooth to stick back in its place. You have to be gentle; otherwise, it can be painful.
Go To a Dentist
If you’re lucky enough to make it to your dentist’s office in time, they can help you to reattach your tooth safely. The faster you can reach for help, the better for you.
If you’re having trouble getting immediate medical attention from your regular dentist, look for other dentists near you who can take a look at it on short notice.
Repair Damaged Teeth
If you are sure that your teeth were knocked off completely, you need to seek medical help right away. Your dentist will most probably suggest performing a root canal as a treatment.
A root canal is a procedure for removing blood vessels from injured tooth roots. They will opt for splinting for your tooth to be sturdy in its socket. Keep in mind that you could probably have a chipped tooth that needs repair. This calls for a different procedure that entails composite filling.
If you have exposed roots from the accident, your dentist will likely suggest cosmetic dentistry procedures, which we'll discuss in the next section. Let’s look at common treatments for repairing damaged teeth.
1. Filling
The safest choice for teeth repairs, especially broken teeth, is also completely painless. Filling basically consists of using restorative materials to fill the gaps between the broken and affected areas. This is also suitable for fixing teeth damage from cavities.
2. Veneers
Veneers are custom shells made from porcelain, metal, or composite resin. They are best for restorative purposes and teeth discoloration. For lost teeth, uneven teeth, or chipped teeth, this cosmetic dental procedure is an excellent and popular choice.
3. Crown
Crowns can be effective in repairing broken teeth in an entire affected area. Crowns are made of porcelain, metal, and ceramic. They are a convenient solution for broken teeth, too, that helps to improve the overall shape and appearance of teeth. This is a popular procedure that dentists often choose to repair damaged teeth.
4. Dental Implant
Dental implants are more time-consuming and require complex dental procedures to repair and restore damaged teeth around your gum line. This basically happens when you are not able to save your tooth post an accident. In such cases, tooth extraction is the only way to treat your broken tooth.
Your dentist will carefully remove the remaining parts of your tooth that are stuck under your gumline. You must follow your dentist's guidelines on post-surgery care if you want to heal successfully.
5. Root Canal
A root canal is a repair treatment for infections in your pulp that occurs from broken or chipped teeth. It basically spreads from the empty space. Dentists perform root canal procedures first to remove the infection from the affected area and then place a crown to fill the empty space to prevent further infections.
6. Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are best for repairing tooth holes. They are ideally done to prevent infections from cracks, cavities, and holes. Sealants are usually placed at the back of your teeth, near your premolars.
Conclusion
If you feel any discomfort or sense that a tooth might’ve been damaged or fallen off after meeting with an unfortunate accident, don’t hesitate to seek medical attention immediately. Sometimes, it can feel mild, but if unattended and neglected, the pain from teeth injuries can escalate within hours.
We recommend you pick up the phone and look for the nearest dentist. The sooner you make it to your dentist’s office, the better for you. Your doctor will suggest procedures, and you can choose to proceed accordingly. Good luck.
Isreal olabanji a dental assistant and public health professionals and has years of experience in assisting the dentist with all sorts of dental issues.
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The content is intended to augment, not replace, information provided by your clinician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Reading this information does not create or replace a doctor-patient relationship or consultation. If required, please contact your doctor or other health care provider to assist you to interpret any of this information, or in applying the information to your individual needs.