HAVE TOOTH WILL TRAVEL

By Robert Bonham, MD

Emergency Department Director

What should you do if someone you know falls, or is accidentally hit in the face and a tooth is knocked out? Don’t panic! Although there will be a lot of blood initially, the amount lost is never a health problem. What could be a problem are the lost tooth and the future health of the tooth. What can you do?

• Find the tooth! A tooth that is re-implanted within approximately 20-30 minutes has a good chance of surviving and saving a lot on dental bills. Surprisingly, it is not the tooth, but the very thin ligament (periodontal ligament) around the root of the tooth that will die if not re-implanted in a short amount of time.
• Keep the tooth moist. Believe it or not, milk is the best available solution at home. Studies show that the tooth ligament will stay alive for up to 3 hours in milk and it is readily available. Some of you may use saline solution for contact lens or an asthma machine. Saline is excellent. Saliva and tap water should only be used as a last resort.
• Make sure to hold the tooth by the crown not the root. The tooth ligament runs down the side of the tooth and is the thing you are trying to preserve so that you can restore the tooth in the socket.
• Visit your nearest emergency department as soon as possible so that the tooth can be properly re-implanted. Remember a primary tooth (baby tooth) cannot be saved, though the good news is that loss of primary teeth will not hinder the growth of the permanent tooth replacement.