Dealing with tooth trauma

You don’t have to worry if your child chips, loosens or loses a tooth.  You need to let your dentist access  and repair any form of tooth trauma immediately. Getting immediate help can mean the difference between preserving and losing the tooth.

Common tooth trauma scenarios : Chipped, loose or lost teeth

Chipped tooth  : If a child chips her tooth , call your dentist . Preserve the tooth portion that broke off in a proper medium. Cold milk or or a product called Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution will offer best results. They will both help maintain the tooth’s viability. Do not store the tooth dry or in water or yogurt or contact lens solution. Acting quickly is very important.

Loose tooth : The dentist will address any variety of tooth movement within 24 hours. In the case of a baby tooth,  the  dentist can often reposition the tooth with just a finger within the first couple of hours. If there is delay, the bone  can firm up and make it  difficult to realign the tooth. When a baby tooth is knocked loose, dentists usually avoid major manipulations  so the teeth may have to remain crooked.  However when an adult tooth is loose,  the dentist will quickly secure it. He  may do that with stabilizing wires or dental material as soon as possible.

Lost tooth  : When  a child loses an adult tooth, someone must re-insert it as soon as possible. That person should gently but quickly clean the teeth and push it back into the socket. This is very crucial. You  have less than an hour to do this before the likelihood of saving the tooth long-term is jeopardized. If the tooth cannot be re -implanted immediately, it is important that you save it properly using cold milk or a product called Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution. Saliva can also work but never store tooth dry, in water, contact lens solution  or yogurt.