When Your Teeth Get Knocked Out
In the world of trauma there are small traumas and big traumas. One small trauma that can seem like a big trauma if it happens to you is having your teeth knocked out.
What should you do if this happens? The consensus amongst experts and the formal recommendation from the
American Heart Association (they do recommendations from what to do in heart attacks to how to respond to someone having a stroke to having your teeth knocked out) is as follows:
1. Stop the bleeding from the tooth socket by holding firm and direct pressure with a clean dry cloth on the socket.
2. Once the bleeding stops gently rinse the socket out with clean warm water.
3. Do not pack the socket.
4. Place the dislodged tooth into a container of milk.
5. Do not handle or grab the tooth by the root; rather grasp it by the crown.
6. Do not try to reinsert the tooth.
7. Consult a dentist emergently; many avulsed teeth if handled correctly and reimplanted by an expert in a timely manner will “take” on reimplantation.
Copyright 2006 Insidesurgery.com