If you have a dental injury, it is important to get it looked at as soon as possible to improve the long term outcome. 

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Leaving damaged teeth can lead to infection and other problems.

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If a tooth has been knocked out (avulsed) try to put it back in place; Do not try to replace a baby tooth.

• Do not touch the tooth by the roots (the part of the tooth which is usually below the gum)

• Try to put the tooth back into the socket. If the tooth is re-implanted this can keep the ligaments around the tooth alive.

• If the root is not clean, gently rinse it with saline, milk (or less ideally water). Don't be too vigorous with the cleaning or the ligaments around the tooth could be damaged.

• Try and re-implant the tooth as quickly as possible - the longer the tooth is out of the socket, the higher the risk of problems.

• Once the tooth is back in the socket, apply pressure to hold it in place for 5 minutes.

• See a dentist as soon as possible - the tooth will need to be splinted to the adjacent teeth to hold it in place whilst the ligament heals and the area will need to be checked for other injuries.

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Storage of a knocked out tooth

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If it is not possible to re-implant the tooth, it can be stored temporarily. To give the best outcome, the tooth needs to be stored in saline, milk or saliva (spit into a cup/ container). Don't leave the tooth stored in water.The sooner a dentist can re-implant the tooth, the better the outcome will be. It is likely Root Canal Treatment will be required after a tooth has been knocked out, even if is re-implanted. 

 

 

If a portion of the tooth has fractured, do not try and re-attach this. Store the broken fragment in saliva, milk or saline and the dentist may be able to bond it back in place.

 

If a tooth has been traumatised, even if it hasn't broken, it is important to see a dentist. Teeth have small blood vessels and nerves entering through the roots and trauma can cause these to be disturbed causing the tooth to die off which can lead to infection and discolouration of the tooth.

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After all dental injuries, it is important to be seen as soon as possible by a dentist.

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