What to Do After a Tooth Avulsion Accident

While you may not fancy visiting a dentist for emergency dental care, dental emergencies are a fact of life, and like everyone else, you never know when they will happen. What you should do in a dental emergency situation depends on the specific issue you are facing and its related symptoms.

An avulsed or knocked-out tooth is one of the scariest dental emergencies you may face at some point in life. Tooth avulsion occurs when there is a traumatic extraction of a tooth from a person's mouth. Aside from causing severe pain and bleeding, it can make you feel anxious about the possibility of losing a permanent tooth.

To save your tooth, follow these crucial steps:

1. Find the avulsed tooth

The first step in the process of saving a knocked-out tooth is to find it and pick it up by the crown – the white, upper visible part of the tooth. Avoid touching the tooth by its root – that is, the part of the tooth below the gum line – to avoid damaging it. 

2. Clean it up

If there is obvious dirt on the tooth, gently rinse it with running tap water or some milk. Do not scrub the tooth clean because this may damage its root and make proper replantation difficult.

3. Preserve it

Once the tooth is clean, store it in a container of milk to keep it moist. If you don't have any milk in the house, put the tooth in your mouth, preferably under your tongue.

4. Stop the bleeding

If you can't stop bleeding after a tooth avulsion, gently rinse your mouth with salt water and then place a piece of clean damp cotton gauze over the affected area. Firmly bite down on it until the bleeding stops. 

5. Reinsert the tooth into its socket

Once you stop or minimise the bleeding, gently try to put the avulsed tooth back into its socket. Immediate reinsertion of the tooth strongly contributes to favourable healing.

Knowing what to do in any dental emergency situation is crucial for saving an avulsed tooth and alleviating related symptoms, such as bleeding, swelling and severe pain. See an emergency dentist near you for a successful replantation of your avulsed tooth. Unlike general dentists who may not be available outside of regular office hours, emergency dentists keep their doors open 24/7 so you can see them no matter the timing of your dental emergency.

Reach out to a local clinic, such as Jansz Dental, to learn more.

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