Knocked Out Tooth
Kids play hard. Sometimes, a child’s mouth collides with another head, the ground, or furniture and a tooth is lost. A knocked-out tooth is a big deal and true dental emergency, but there are solutions. Contact Dr. Mitchell Loeb at Kid Grins in Edina, MN, right away if your child has a knocked out tooth.
What to Do If Your Child Knocks Out a Tooth
There is a lot of blood with any mouth injury, especially a knocked out tooth. Once you have confirmed that the child has not lost consciousness and are confident they do not have a concussion and do not need a hospital visit, it’s time to focus on the mouth injury.
- Apply pressure to the area where the tooth was.
- Find the tooth and touch only the crown of the tooth, not the root.
- Quickly rinse the tooth under cold water for a few seconds if it is dirty.
- Place the tooth back in the socket and hold it in place with a paper towel or a cloth.
- If the tooth cannot be put back in place, put it in a cup of cold milk to preserve it on your ride to the pediatric dentist.
- Call your dentist and tell them the circumstances and carefully follow any instructions they provide.
- If a knocked out tooth is out of the mouth for too long, the viability of replacing it goes down.
If Your Child Knocks Out Baby Tooth
For some kids, a knocked out tooth is a great way to get one more baby tooth out of the way, whether it was loose or not. If your child loses a baby tooth in a traumatic way, your dentist will likely not implant the tooth back into the mouth, but it is still important to apply pressure to the site, try to locate the tooth, and call your pediatric dentist immediately.
- There could be damage to the gum or adult tooth that has yet to erupt that a parent cannot recognize or see.
- In some circumstances, a space maintainer may be used to hold the lost tooth’s spot and tooth alignment until the permanent tooth erupts.
- A pediatric partial may be an option as a replacement tooth – and cosmetic repair – temporarily attached with orthodontic bands to fill in the gap.
If Your Child Knocks Out a Permanent Tooth
The goal is to put the permanent tooth back in place if it is knocked out, but it isn’t always possible to reimplant the tooth.
- If a tooth is reimplanted. Your dentist will splint the tooth with a small wire or piece of plastic to keep it in place.
- If a tooth is partially lost. Sometimes, bonding material can be enough for now to correct the tooth cosmetically as your child heals.
- If a tooth is completely lost. There are many viable options for replacing a knocked out tooth, including a dental implant, dental bridge, or porcelain veneer depending on the extent of the damage and age of the child.
Get Help for a Knocked Out Tooth in Edina, MN
All tooth injuries are different and there is no way for your pediatric dentist to predict whether a reimplantation of a tooth will last. Tooth trauma in children is monitored closely for several weeks to ensure that the knocked out tooth does not cause trouble or impact the surrounding teeth. Your dentist will advise you to be on the lookout for teeth that turn black or gray or swelling or blistering at the site that may indicate an abscess.
If your child has a dental emergency or a knocked out tooth, contact Dr. Loeb immediately, even after hours, to get advice and help right away.
