Dental Avulsion - Traumatic Tooth Loss

During the summer, people tend to be more active outdoors and may be at greater risk for dental injuries. While nobody ever plans to get a tooth knocked out, we at Bernstein Dental Care thought it would be a good idea to remind our patients of what steps they can take during a dental emergency to have the best chance of preserving their teeth.

When a tooth is knocked out entirely, we call that a “dental avulsion.” The tooth should be lifted by its crown, never its root. There are American Dental Association-approved tooth transport containers that will hopefully be available in a nearby first aid kit, but if not, the tooth should be rinsed with a saline solution. It should then be reinserted into the empty socket, with care to ensure it is facing the right way. If this is too uncomfortable, it may be held in the cheek or in a glass of milk or saltwater, but the patient should have facial lacerations attended to first.

We can determine whether a tooth is salvageable. It may not be if the root is cracked, and we don’t reinsert baby teeth. Instead, we may recommend that a pediatric patient get a spacer to keep the gap open until the adult tooth can emerge naturally. But if we can’t save a tooth, we can still assist an adult patient by providing a temporary crown and planning how the tooth will permanently be replaced. In the meantime, we urge all our patients to wear recently-fitted mouthguards while doing activities such as skating and sports.

Dr. Paul Bernstein runs Bernstein Dental Care at 350 91^st St, Suite 1C, Brooklyn, New York, 11209. To schedule an appointment, visit Bernstein Dental Care or call 718-833-9191.