When A Tooth Gets Knocked Out
Summertime is here! School is out and kids are running free, playing ball, climbing trees and taking off on their bikes. Summertime means injuries too: broken arms, sprained ankles and teeth knocked out.
Summertime means extra outdoor activities that open you and your kids up to the possibility of getting a tooth knocked. We thought it would be a good time to review the right course of action to follow when a tooth is knocked out.
Here are the steps to take if you knock a tooth out:
- Never touch the root of the tooth!
- Always pick up the tooth by the crown (if you can find it that is)
- If the tooth is dirty, rinse it off with milk, not water and do not scrub the tooth at all.
- Do not wrap the tooth in tissue.
- If possible, replace the tooth in its socket, as quickly as you can.
- Hold the tooth in place while you travel to the dentist.
- If you cannot replace the tooth, pack it in milk, and then put the milk container in ice.
- If there is no milk available, have the person who lost the tooth place it in their mouth between their teeth and cheek.
- Do not put the tooth in water.
- If the person who lost the tooth is unconscious, do NOT replant the tooth because they might inhale or swallow the tooth.
- If you can get to a dentist within one hour, your chances of saving the tooth are very good, after two hours your chances decrease significantly.
Call North Seattle Restorative & Preventative Dentistry, in Kenmore WA, at 425-486-2715 for more information.