More than five million teeth are knocked out every year in children as well as adults. With proper emergency action, a tooth that has been knocked out of its socket can be successfully replanted and last for years.
Here is a step by step guide to saving a knocked out tooth and let Birch Dental Practice know within 30 minutes where we can take x-rays and help put the tooth back into position:
- find the tooth
- hold it by the crown (the white bit that sticks out of the gum)
- lick the tooth clean if it’s dirty, or rinse it in water
- put it back into position (adult teeth only); never try to re-insert a baby tooth
- bite on a handkerchief to hold the tooth in place
- go to see a dentist as an emergency
If you can’t put the tooth back in position, put it in milk and see a dentist straight away. The sooner a knocked-out tooth is re-implanted, the more likely it is to embed itself back into the gum.
If your child knocks out a baby tooth, you shouldn’t try to re-implant it because you may damage the adult tooth growing underneath. Let Birch Dental Practice know, and we will tell you the best suitable treatment for your child.