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The Three Key Steps To Take When Having A Tooth Knocked Out

10 January 2019

Oscar Allen

Having a tooth knocked out of your mouth is not exactly something you can prepare for. It will happen unexpectedly, and then you will need to perform the correct actions quickly in order to save your tooth. That is why it helps to know what to do in this type of situation before it happens to you.

Locate The Knocked Out Tooth

The very first thing you need to do is locate the tooth that just got knocked out of your mouth. If you are playing a contact sport and it happens on the field, alert everybody immediately that you just lost a tooth. You do not want to run the risk of someone stepping on the tooth and damaging it. You should stop the game and start looking as soon as possible.

Once the tooth is found, you will want to pick it up by its crown, which is the part that is normally exposed in your mouth. Do not touch the tooth by its root, since you run the risk of causing damage to it.

Clean The Knocked Out Tooth

The tooth is most likely dirty from touching wherever it fell, so you'll want to clean off the tooth. However, there is a right and wrong way to clean a knocked out tooth. Start by finding a sink with a drain that has a stopper in it, which will help prevent you from accidentally dropping the tooth down the drain. Gently run water over the tooth, and avoid using any type of soap to clean it. You want to avoid drying the tooth as well. Do not pat it down with paper towels or place it under a hand dryer, since that can cause the root to dry out.

Store The Knocked Out Tooth

You have a couple options to store the tooth. If you're heading directly to an emergency dentist, you can actually try reinserting your tooth into your gums, or hold it in your mouth against your cheek. Another option is to put it in a cup that has some milk or your old saliva in it. Do not place the tooth in a cup of water, since the minerals found in water can cause the root of the tooth to deteriorate.

Visit A Dentist Immediately

Your best chance of having the tooth saved is to visit a dentist as soon as possible. They will be able to take steps to reinsert the tooth so that it can be saved. If you wait too long, the tooth will become damaged and will not be able to reintegrate back into your gums. Contact a clinic, like Apollo Dental Center, for more help.

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