I hardly get called for emergencies but when I do most of the time it is over the weekend. The reason for the call is usually not a toothache but a knocked out or severely damaged front tooth from a sport accident. The results are usually devastating, despite our best efforts to save the tooth. Over time the tooth is usually lost with a resulting space that forces your young child to wear a retainer with a tooth in it until they are 16-18 years old at which point we have to place an implant and a crown. Not only is this just horrible for a young child to wear a fake tooth for a long time but the cost is devastating to parents.
All of this can be avoided by wearing a sport guard. I am not talking about a sports authority sport guard but one that is custom made for your child's mouth and for the particular sport to withstand the forces should an accident come your way. I hope this never happens to anyone but if it does I hope you have listened to me and protected your child's smile.
What to do If your child's tooth gets knocked out:
You have to find the tooth immediately and handle it from the tooth portion and not the root portion. Do not touch the root as most of the tissue is hopefully still alive.
Attempt to line up the tooth and put it back into the socket the best that you can after placing the tooth in your child's cheek to clean it. Please do not run the tooth under hot water. If you have saline you can place it in the solution for a minute and then replant the tooth.
If you don't have the stomach to place the tooth in the socket, keep it in your child's cheek and call us immediately. Please do not wrap the tooth in a tissue. If your child is traumatized and will not keep it in their cheek place it in milk or saline solution till you get to our office. There is only a 45 minute window to place the tooth back in the socket. After this time line the chances of success decrease tremendously.
Wouldn't it be better to just wear a professionally made mouth guard?
Dr. McDonald
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