Knocked Out a Tooth? Take These Steps Immediately

If you watched the American men win the gold medal hockey game, you might have noticed that the winning goal came at a cost — a player’s front teeth bore the brunt of that effort, leaving him with a victorious, but incomplete, smile.

Hockey is far from the only place where teeth get knocked out — more than five million teeth succumb to injury each year in the United States. But not all of these teeth are lost if you take swift action.

When it comes to dental emergencies such as knocked-out teeth, there’s no better team than the one found here at Smile Bright Dental in Tampa and New Port Richey, Florida. While we can certainly do our part to save your tooth, the important effort is on your end when you follow these steps.

1. Rinse your mouth

We understand that whatever led to your or a loved one’s tooth getting knocked out was probably traumatic, so first, make sure the person is OK. Some blood is expected, and you should gently clean or rinse the mouth to really assess the damage.

If the person feels OK and is ready to proceed, follow these steps.

2. Find the tooth

If, after rinsing, you see that a tooth (or two) was knocked out, try to find the tooth. When you do, only handle it by the crown and not the sensitive root area. The less you handle the root area, the better your chances of reintegration.

3. Storing the knocked-out tooth

If you’re dealing with a permanent tooth, try to gently place it back in the socket. Please don’t force it if the tooth doesn’t slide in easily. If the tooth does go back in, hold it in place by biting down on something soft, such as gauze or a teabag. You can also use a mouthguard or aligners if you have them.

If the tooth doesn’t go back into the socket, you can place it between your cheek and gums or in a glass of milk, which helps protect the tooth until you see us.

4. Don’t reinsert baby teeth

If the tooth lost was a baby tooth, don’t reinsert it. There’s likely a permanent tooth growing underneath, and we don’t want to damage the emerging tooth.

Still, we do want to examine the child to ensure nothing else was damaged.

5. Call us for an emergency appointment

We put this step as number 5, but it would be great if you or someone else called us right away after the tooth gets knocked out. Timing is important as we only have a small window in which we can reinsert a knocked-out tooth. 

To help with the timing, we offer emergency dentistry, same-day appointments, and Saturday appointments.

When you come in, we assess the tooth and socket to see whether there’s a good chance of saving the tooth. Even if there isn’t, rest assured, we have a comprehensive suite of tooth restoration services.

If you have more questions about what to do when a tooth gets knocked out or to schedule an emergency visit at Smile Bright Dental, we invite you to give us a call today or book online anytime.